Flydubai passenger describes hugging his children as plane nosedived during attack

What the report says

A BBC report says Adam Polovincik, a passenger on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, described trying to calm his two young children as the aircraft suddenly dropped after one pilot was stabbed in an apparent attempt to take control of the plane. He said he hugged his six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter and reassured them that everything would be all right while the cabin descended rapidly.

According to the BBC, the flight lost more than 17,000 feet in less than two minutes about two hours into the journey on Wednesday. Passengers and crew then overpowered the alleged attacker and regained control of the aircraft. The stabbed pilot is in a stable condition in hospital, and the suspected attacker has been arrested. The plane was diverted to Saudi Arabia before the passengers were later taken on to Tel Aviv.

Polovincik praised the pilot who was attacked and the passengers who intervened, calling them heroes. He said there was panic on board, with people screaming and blood visible as the situation unfolded. The article says most passengers were Israeli and that families were traveling after a holiday period.

BBC also reported comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said it was too early to determine whether Iran was involved, while alleging the attacker had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination. These claims were attributed to Netanyahu and were not independently established in the report.