Vol flydubai: Netanyahu pointe "un endoctrinement islamiste" du copilote
What happened on board the flydubai flight? The United Arab Emirates opened an investigation on Thursday into a possible "terrorist" link, while Israel pointed to "Islamist indoctrination" of the co-pilot suspected of wanting to cause a crash.
In the aftermath of the emergency landing in Saudi Arabia of the plane bound for Tel Aviv, carrying 174 people, including 166 Israelis according to the media, the profile and motives of the suspect remain unclear.
According to accounts from travelers and Israeli authorities, he stabbed the captain to crash the plane, causing a sudden loss of altitude, before passengers rushed into the cockpit to subdue him.
"Heroes" for Israel, hailed in the streets, on social media and on television sets, a rare moment of unity in an ultra-divided country on the eve of the legislative elections.
Together with the crew of the Emirati company, they prevented a disaster of potentially "global" proportions, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who came to welcome them at the airport.
Among them was Yaniv Hayoun, a plumber, who recounted how he forced the co-pilot out of the cockpit before righting the plane using piloting skills he had learned from watching television. His photograph, in clothes stained with the assailant's blood, made the front page of several newspapers on Thursday.
He will receive the Presidential Award for Citizen Heroism, one of the highest civilian honors, along with four other passengers: a woman, "the first" to raise the alarm, two other men who subdued the co-pilot, and a dentist who reportedly provided emergency care to the pilot, according to the presidency.
India paid tribute to its pilot, who was injured and hospitalized in Saudi Arabia. "Commander Smit Machchhar is a HERO," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X.
The investigation is now underway: the Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates, quoted by a state media outlet, announced its opening in order to determine "to what extent the incident is linked to terrorist activity or intent".
Without delay, Israel denounced on Wednesday a "jihadist terrorist attack attempt", targeting in particular the United Arab Emirates and the Abraham Accords which normalized relations between the two countries in 2020.
According to Mr. Netanyahu, "the co-pilot who attacked the captain is being questioned, but here is what we know: he had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination."
"He shouted 'Kill me, kill me,' okay. So it's clear he was suicidal (...) It's clear he intended to crash the plane," he told Fox News.
Earlier, he had not ruled out the possibility of an act linked to psychiatric problems.
The Israeli leader asserted that he was "in constant contact" with Saudi authorities, who he said were currently interrogating the suspect. Riyadh has not commented publicly on the matter.
Donald Trump, who spoke with the Israeli Prime Minister, remained vague, stating that "the co-pilot might have been a terrorist or a lunatic".
Flydubai, for its part, called for "abstaining from any premature speculation," stressing that the reasons for the altercation between the two pilots were at this stage "unknown."
The company has suspended its flights to and from Israel for the duration of the investigation.
Upon their arrival in Tel Aviv, passengers described a nightmarish flight.
"We heard screams in the plane. Then they opened the cockpit and we saw blood, and that someone had stabbed the pilot with a knife," a passenger told Israeli television, while others described a sudden loss of altitude.
According to Flightradar24, the aircraft dropped from nearly 34,000 to less than 17,000 feet in one minute, or about 5,000 meters.
In a video filmed on board, a man appears with a bloodied head and calls for help as the plane prepares to land in Saudi Arabia, a country that does not maintain any official diplomatic relations with Israel.
"We were warmly welcomed. They did everything to make us feel at home, like guests," Almog Italy told AFP, commenting on the Saudi authorities' handling of the travelers.
A passenger praises "Saudi hospitality," headlined Arab News.
Commentaires (9)
C'est le pilote blessé qui a verrouillé les portes de sorties de l'avion. C'est lui qui a arrêté la piqué de l'avion, qui l'a redressé. Et ce sont deux pilotes russe et ukrainiens, en civils, qui ont fait atterrir l'avion. Pourquoi Netanyahu et l'AFP veulent y inclure une prouesse sioniste israélienne ? Pourquoi y injecter une diabolisation de l'islam. Franchement l'AFP est un groupe médiatique à interdire.
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