'I pulled the controls': Passenger tells Israeli PM how he helped stop attacker

A passenger aboard a diverted Flydubai flight has recounted how he intervened during an attack in the cockpit, telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he pulled back on the aircraft controls to halt a steep dive.

The conversation took place after the traveller arrived at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, where Netanyahu greeted passengers following the mid-air emergency. According to details shared with the prime minister, the passenger and fellow travellers took action against an alleged attacker inside the cockpit.

During the incident, the aircraft rapidly plunged about 17,000 feet in under two minutes. The passenger explained that he assisted in pinning the suspect to the floor while also pulling the flight controls backward to prevent the jet from nosediving further.

Following the mid-flight confrontation, the airliner was diverted to Saudi Arabia. Flydubai subsequently arranged a replacement aircraft to collect the stranded travellers and complete the journey to their final destination in Israel.

Authorities confirmed that the passengers later landed safely at the airport near Tel Aviv, bringing an end to the ordeal that had prompted an emergency diversion into Saudi airspace. Details regarding the identity or motives of the alleged attacker have not yet been released.