There was widespread celebration around the world, as Jewish people thanked G‑d for His kindness earlier today in what is being described as a “miracle in the skies.”
A Flydubai passenger jet carrying 174 people, among them 166 Israelis, from Dubai to Tel Aviv almost ended in disaster on Wednesday, Sept. 30, the fourth day of Sukkot, after the co-pilot, an Omani national, allegedly stabbed the captain, Smit Malchchhar, and tried to bring down the aircraft. The attack was thwarted when Malchchhar was able to unlock the cockpit doors, allowing Israeli passengers to rush in and remove the terrorist and pulled the plane out of its dive, while two off-duty pilots on board brought the plane under control, before making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
The timing, with the miracle taking place during Sukkot–a holiday celebrating G‑d’s protection of the Jews with the Clouds of Glory during their 40 years of wandering in the desert, added special significance. During a talk on the second day of Sukkot in 1958, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, quoted the verse “the L‑rd, your G‑d, walks within your camp in order to protect you” (Deuteronomy 23:15), and noted that the Hebrew word for “to protect you,” lehatzilcha (להצילך), is related to the word for shade (צל) used in reference to the Sukkah
The Sukkah represents the shade of G‑d's protection within which the Jewish people dwell. Citing the Kabbalistic idea that this encompassing protection represents the transcendence of G‑d, which exceeds all natural limitations, the Rebbe emphasized that the work of each Jew is to access the transcendence within their own soul and express it intellectually, emotionally, and, most importantly, in action. Thereby we allow the miraculous transcendence of G‑d to be revealed throughout the entire world. “Thereby,” the Rebbe concluded, “the shade of faith is manifest in a revealed way on the festival of Sukkot.”
According to Israeli officials, the attack began in the cockpit of flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX. Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft dropping nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. The plane transmitted an emergency code and then the international code for unlawful interference. The Israel Air Force scrambled fighter jets as authorities tried to communicate with the pilots battling in the cockpit.
A passenger identified as Daniel told Israel’s Channel 12 TV that he heard a struggle coming from the cockpit and saw, through a partly open door, an attempt to push someone out. Three Israeli men seated behind him rushed forward.
“It felt like that’s it. It’s over,” he said.
Another Israeli passenger told The Jerusalem Post that the passengers fought the attacker while the plane was diving and removed him from the cockpit. They then restrained him with corded headphones.
By Divine Providence, two additional Flydubai pilots happened to be on the flight, and took the controls, guiding the plane to safety. An Israeli dentist on board treated the wounded captain, and the plane landed at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the suspect was detained, and both pilots were hospitalized.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the passengers and crew had prevented a major disaster. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an “attempted Jihadist terror attack.”
A replacement Flydubai plane later flew the passengers to Ben-Gurion International Airport, where they were joyously received as they landed in the Holy Land on Wednesday evening.
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