Flydubai hijack plot: Passengers allege cabin crew demanded 'terrorist pilot' be untied

Passengers on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv are recounting a harrowing midair struggle in which the aircraft’s cabin crew allegedly tried to free the co-pilot after Israeli travellers had already subdued him.

In exclusive interviews with the New York Post, two Israeli passengers, who helped secure the suspect said cabin crew members later confronted them and demanded the “terrorist pilot” be untied. An argument ensued, with the Israeli trio responding that “under no circumstances” would the suspected terrorist be released, they told.

A “power play” followed, with the crew insisting they were in charge of the plane and needed to remain alone in the area directly in front of the cockpit, the passengers alleged. The men said they refused to hand over the bound suspect because they were unsure whether other crew members might be involved in the plot.

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Passengers recount tying up attacker

Zvika Manes, one of the passengers who entered the cockpit, said that he and others tied the attacker up “with his own zip ties and with the multimedia headphones". Another passenger said that the group used a headphone cable to bind the co-pilot’s hands and feet after he was wounded.

The subdued attacker then began saying, “Kill me,” indicating he had failed in his mission and preferred death, one passenger recounted.

Real estate professional Daniel Schlichter, who helped subdue the co-pilot, said the request immediately raised alarms among the passengers. “They were saying to free the terrorist. We got instantly suspicious of them," he recalled.

An argument broke out as passengers firmly refused to release al-Hammami. “They said, ‘You are not God, you are not going to kill him,’" passenger Manes said, clarifying that their goal was strictly to secure the plane, not to harm the attacker.

Demonstrating remarkable restraint, the group even placed an oxygen mask on al-Hammami to keep him alive for questioning.

Midair attack and emergency landing

The incident unfolded on Wednesday aboard flight FZ1073, when the Omani co-pilot stabbed the Indian captain and sent the jet plunging nearly 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds. The wounded captain managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers and a crew member to rush in, subdue the assailant and enable two off-duty pilots on board to regain control and land safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

More than 10 hours later, the 174 people on board were flown to Tel Aviv on a replacement Flydubai aircraft, with several describing the episode as a "miracle".

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Investigation underway

The United Arab Emirates has said it will lead the investigation, including into possible links to terrorism, while Israeli officials have described the motive as still under investigation. Saudi authorities initially treated both pilots before the suspect was transferred to the UAE, where investigators are examining whether the violence was terrorism-related.