Pilot Critically Injured in Alleged Terror Attack Aboard Tel Aviv-Bound Flight
Israeli officials are investigating the incident as an attempted terror attack after a co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain mid-flight.
Graphic video footage shows the captain of a Tel Aviv-bound flight severely injured and clinging to life after his co-pilot allegedly attacked him in what Israeli officials believe was an attempted terror attack. The captain, who was reportedly stabbed by his co-pilot at cruising altitude, is seen in the video wearing an oxygen mask and lying in the galley of the aircraft next to a blood-smeared wall.
A blood-soaked bandage covers one of his wounds, and his hand is clasped to his abdomen. In the video, an unseen man filming the scene asks the pilot if he wants to sleep, to which the pilot weakly shakes his head no.
A second crewmember, believed to be the co-pilot, is seen unconscious and restrained in a blood-soaked white uniform. Passengers can be heard speaking in Hebrew in the video, translated as: "Film us too – film ourselves – [showing] that we’re standing guard here. They attacked us, and we’re guarding the pilot here." Another voice adds, "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."
The Boeing 737 Max 8, with 174 passengers including 27 children, made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Israeli officials have launched a terrorism investigation into the incident. According to two Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to Reuters, the current assessment is that the incident was an attempted "terror attack" and not related to any mental health issue of the pilots. Another Israeli official told Channel 12 that "one pilot stabbed the other and tried to do a 9/11."