Graphic video shows blood-drenched pilot clinging to life after ‘attempted terror attack’
Graphic video shows the captain of a Tel Aviv-bound FlyDubai flight drenched in blood and clinging to life after his co-pilot allegedly stabbed him in what Israeli officials believe was an attempted terror attack.
The captain, who was reportedly knifed by his co-pilot at cruising altitude, is seen wearing an oxygen mask and lying on his back in the galley of the aircraft next to a blood-smeared wall, according to the shocking clip.
His hand is clasped to his abdomen over one of several wounds, one of which is covered by a blood-soaked bandage.
“No sleep. You want sleep?” the unseen man filming the chaotic scene asks the pilot in English, who weakly shakes his head no.
A second crewmember who appears to be the co-pilot is seen unconscious and restrained, wearing a white uniform nearly soaked through with blood.
“Film us too – film ourselves – [showing] that we’re standing guard here. They attacked us, and we’re guarding the pilot here,” passengers can be heard speaking Hebrew in the video translated by The Post.
“They attacked us on this plane. They tried to murder the pilot. We took control of the crew. Why? This is the pilot they wanted to murder,” another man can be heard saying.
“Gili … my brother, well done. Film everything. We’re standing here. Nobody is getting through the pilot’s door. That’s what [they] wanted,” he says.
The Boeing 737 Max 8 – with 174 passengers on board, including 27 children – made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia — a civilian and military base in the kingdom.
Here’s the latest on the Israel-bound plane suspected terror attack:
- Israel-bound plane pilot stabbed by co-pilot, causing jet to plunge 18K feet: They ‘tried to do 9/11’
- Graphic video shows blood-drenched pilot clinging to life after ‘attempted terror attack’
- Israel-bound plane co-pilot behind suspected terror attack was Omani and had worked for Flydubai under a year
- Bloodied Israel-bound jet passenger begs for help after ‘hijacking’: ‘We’ve subdued the terrorists’
- Off-duty pilots on Israel-bound plane heroically landed aircraft after cockpit stabbing, passengers say
Two off-duty pilots stepped in to safely land the plane, according to passengers.
The two men were both “relief” pilots slated to skipper a subsequent flight, one passenger told the BBC.
Both relief pilots were European, one of them was British, the passenger said, but the other’s nationality was not immediately known.
Israeli officials have launched a terrorism investigation into the incident.
Two Israeli officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the current assessment is that the incident was an attempted “terror attack” and not related to any kind of mental health issue with either of the pilots.
Another Israeli official told Channel 12 that “one pilot stabbed the other and tried to do a 9/11.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot tried to “crash the plane with its passengers” in a video address Wednesday evening local time. He confirmed the aviator had been arrested.
“He is currently being interrogated by the Saudi authorities. We are maintaining continuous contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the ongoing safety of the passengers and to guarantee their prompt return home,” Netanyahu said.
“I have instructed the security establishment to prepare for additional potential threats.”
The attack occurred about two-and-a-half hours into the FlyDubai flight, which took off from Dubai around 7 a.m. local time Wednesday.
The jet dropped from an altitude of approximately 33,000 feet to around 15,400 feet in less than two minutes, according to FlightAware data, and Israeli fighter jets were scrambled as a precaution.
Though the co-pilot’s identity has not been released, sources told the Jerusalem Post and CNN that the man is of Omani descent and had worked for the airline for less than a year.
Oman and Israel do not have diplomatic relations, so a host of Israeli agencies, including Shin Bet, Mossad, the military and the transportation ministry, are investigating how the Omani pilot obtained clearance to fly to Israel, CNN reported.
Videos filmed by other passengers and posted on social media have helped piece together the harrowing incident as the world watches.
“We’re here during the hijacking of an airplane. At this point we’ve subdued the terrorists, we’re approaching landing. Whoever is hearing me, we need help,” a passenger with blood streaming down his face said in a first-person video posted on X.
Another video shows a different passenger, who apparently helped subdue the co-pilot after the stabbing, reassuring his family he was safe.
“We’ve apparently landed in Saudi Arabia. There’s a pilot that’s seriously injured.
“They’re taking him to a hospital. There’s another terrorist who … we don’t know his condition, but he was involved somehow. It was rough. It was rough. We’ll be home in a few hours. I need a change of clothes. Everything is drenched in blood,” the man said.
“That’s it. I love you. I’ll tell you what happened when we get back,” he added.
“Your dad is a hero. One of the heroes. [I didn’t do it] alone. I’ll see you later. I gotta let my heart rate go down.”
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With Post wires
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