Circuit Wire — a daily news update from the Circuit.
Flydubai has suspended all flights to and from Israel while it investigates a cockpit attack on flight FZ1073, which diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, September 30, Al Jazeera reported. The suspension stays in place for the length of the inquiry.
The Dubai to Tel Aviv flight carried 174 people, most of them Israeli, when the captain was stabbed, as we reported on Wednesday. Both Al Jazeera and Fox News said the jet lost thousands of feet in about a minute before it landed. Fox News said four Americans were on board.
Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, is in stable condition in a hospital in Tabuk. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him "a true hero" and said the co-pilot apparently meant to bring the aircraft down. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also praised the captain's courage, Fox News reported.
Fox News identified the co-pilot as an Omani national, now in Saudi custody and being questioned. Al Jazeera reported that he has not been publicly named and that no motive has been established. Israeli, Saudi and US authorities are coordinating, according to Fox News, while Flydubai and the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority are carrying out the investigation. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and President Herzog have both described the attack as terrorism.
Al Jazeera named two passengers who helped end it. Yaniv Hayun entered the cockpit and assisted with the controls, and Asaf Rajuan helped restrain the attacker. A rescue flight later took the passengers on to Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu also announced that Israel will vet the identities of all pilots flying into the country, according to Al Jazeera.
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