Aviation and security experts examining the extraordinary ordeal aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073 say the safe outcome bordered on miraculous, as a commercial jet carrying 174 people survived a violent cockpit attack, an extraordinarily rapid loss of altitude and a desperate struggle for control before ultimately landing safely in Saudi Arabia.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv Wednesday when the crisis erupted at cruising altitude. Israeli officials say the co-pilot attacked Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit, stabbing him and apparently attempting to bring down the aircraft. Flydubai has confirmed that an “altercation” occurred on the flight deck but says the motive remains under formal investigation.

What followed was an almost unimaginable convergence of circumstances that aviation specialists say prevented the episode from ending catastrophically: the wounded captain was apparently able to release the cockpit door, passengers and crew managed to reach the flight deck, an Israeli passenger physically subdued the alleged attacker, and additional flydubai pilots happened to be aboard the aircraft and were able to assume control.

Flight-tracking data underscored just how close the aircraft came to disaster. The jet was cruising at approximately 34,000 feet when it suddenly plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds, according to Reuters. Other tracking measurements covering a somewhat longer interval showed the aircraft falling from approximately 34,000 feet to around 17,000 feet.

The aircraft transmitted emergency transponder signals during the crisis, including the 7500 code associated with unlawful interference or hijacking. Israel scrambled fighter aircraft as authorities attempted to determine what was unfolding aboard the Tel Aviv-bound jet.

Passengers described being thrown around as the aircraft descended violently, with some convinced that they were experiencing their final moments. Chaim Nazarovitz said that for a moment he felt as though he was “not among the living,” while passenger Naama Bershadski recalled closing her eyes, praying and thinking, “We’re going to die.”

Yet even as the aircraft was dropping, a series of extraordinary developments was unfolding at the front of the cabin.

Yaniv Hayoun, an Israeli plumber seated near the front of the aircraft, rushed toward the cockpit with others after passengers became aware that a pilot had been stabbed. According to Hayoun, the wounded captain was on the other side of the cockpit door and had apparently managed to activate the release that allowed the passengers to get inside.

Hayoun and others then fought with the alleged attacker and dragged him away from the aircraft’s controls. With the jet still descending, Hayoun grabbed the controls himself and pulled back on them, relying on what he remembered from watching the aviation-disaster television program “Mayday,” also known as “Air Crash Investigation.”

When Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu later asked Hayoun whether he knew what he was doing, the blood-covered passenger gave an extraordinary answer: “I watch Air Crash Investigation, Mr Prime Minister.”

That intervention bought critical time until qualified pilots could take over.

In another remarkable circumstance, two additional flydubai pilots were traveling aboard FZ1073. Airlines routinely transport flight crews as passengers when they need to reposition personnel, but their presence on this particular flight meant that trained pilots were immediately available after the cockpit attack. Flydubai said on-duty crew traveling aboard the aircraft ultimately secured the jet, diverted it and landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.

Aviation experts say the episode also illustrates an unusual vulnerability created by the very security measures designed to protect modern commercial aircraft. Since the September 11 attacks, cockpit doors have been heavily reinforced to prevent hijackers from gaining access to pilots. In this case, however, the alleged threat originated inside the protected cockpit itself.

Stanislav Bukhman, head of risk at aviation-security firm Osprey Flight Solutions, said investigators will likely scrutinize several areas, including pilot vetting, crew screening and exactly how access to the cockpit was obtained during the emergency.

Cabin crews have emergency procedures that can permit access when pilots are incapacitated, although pilots who remain conscious normally retain the ability to deny such an entry request.

“This exists for situations where the pilots are incapacitated. There is a safeguard built in, though. If the pilots are conscious and operating normally, they can deny that request and keep the door locked. This is designed to protect the flight deck in a hijacking or hostage situation,” Bukhman explained.

“At this stage there isn’t enough information to say how the flight deck on FZ 1073 was accessed. The door may have been opened by the captain, who reportedly resisted the co-pilot’s attempt to take control, or by cabin crew using the emergency procedure.”

Investigators are also expected to focus intensely on one of the most troubling unanswered questions: how a knife or other bladed weapon apparently reached the cockpit of an Israel-bound commercial aircraft in the first place. Pilots and other crew members normally undergo airport security screening, and airlines also conduct employment, medical and background vetting of flight crews.

The incident is particularly striking because aviation security systems have spent decades concentrating on preventing outsiders from taking control of an aircraft. The FZ1073 episode appears to present the much more difficult scenario of a person authorized to sit at the controls allegedly becoming the threat himself.

There have been rare but devastating precedents involving pilots deliberately bringing down commercial aircraft. In 2015, the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 locked the captain outside the cockpit and deliberately flew the Airbus A320 into the French Alps, killing all 150 people aboard. The circumstances of the flydubai incident remain under investigation and should not be assumed to be the same, but the Germanwings disaster illustrates why an internal cockpit threat is especially difficult to stop.

In the case of FZ1073, the outcome was dramatically different because people outside the cockpit were able to intervene and trained replacement pilots were available aboard the aircraft.

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that the flight suffered a security incident requiring an emergency diversion to Tabuk and that crew members were injured and taken to a Saudi hospital. Emirati authorities said investigators are examining both operational and security aspects of the incident and cautioned against reaching conclusions before the investigation is complete.

The alleged attacker was taken into Saudi custody. Authorities have not publicly established his motive, and flydubai has specifically cautioned that the reasons behind the cockpit incident remain unknown pending the investigation.

President Isaac Herzog described the survival of those aboard as a “great miracle,” while Netanyahu praised the passengers who intervened as heroes who prevented what he said could have been a major disaster.

For the passengers themselves, the description was even simpler.

After finally reaching Israel, passenger Lital Shachaf summed up the ordeal: “I just can say that it was a miracle.”

“It was awful, crazy, and we thank God that we survived it. We didn’t think we will make it but thank God we are in Israel.”

{Matzav.com}