Flydubai passenger, 51, taken to hospital after rescue flight lands in Israel

A 51-year-old man who arrived in Israel on a flydubai rescue flight from Saudi Arabia was taken to hospital after medics checked all of the passengers on landing, according to Magen David Adom, Israel's national emergency medical service. Emanuel Fabian, military correspondent for The Times of Israel, relayed the service's account: the man had suffered trauma to his upper body and was in good condition when he was evacuated.

Israeli broadcaster N12 identified the destination. N12 reported that medical examinations of the passengers were still under way and that a man with a chest injury would go to Assaf Harofeh hospital. Ynet, the news site of the Yedioth Ahronoth group, also described a chest injury and said the passenger was in mild condition. A later N12 update said the injured man had reached Assaf Harofeh, carrying images credited to Magen David Adom's operational documentation unit.

Why the passengers were on a rescue flight

The passengers had originally boarded a flydubai service from Dubai to Tel Aviv. According to The Times of Israel, that earlier plane ended up on the ground in Saudi Arabia following an alleged knife attack on the pilot by his co-pilot, which the outlet said was suspected to be an effort to bring the aircraft down. A second aircraft then carried the passengers onward to Israel, landing at Ben Gurion Airport, the country's main international gateway near Tel Aviv.

The same Times of Israel live coverage listed several related items from the day. They included an account from an Israeli passenger who said he helped restrain the alleged attacker and that headphones were used to tie him up, footage of passengers cheering and singing as the rescue flight touched down, and a report that Saudi Arabia had declined an Israeli request to let Israeli aircraft collect the stranded passengers. Those items appear in the report as headlines only, and this article does not add detail to them.

Who is involved

Flydubai is a low-cost airline based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, and operates flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv.

Magen David Adom, often shortened to MDA, is Israel's national ambulance and emergency medical organisation, roughly the equivalent of a national paramedic service. It is the body that assessed the passengers after landing and made the decision to transfer the injured man.

Assaf Harofeh is a hospital in central Israel, not far from Ben Gurion Airport. It now operates officially under the name Shamir Medical Center, though Israeli media continue to use the older name.

The diversion to Saudi Arabia carries particular weight for Israeli travellers because Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have formal diplomatic relations, which shapes how Israeli authorities can act on Saudi soil. The Times of Israel item about a declined Israeli request points to that constraint, though the report gives no further detail.

How the accounts differ

The reports agree that one passenger, a man, was sent to hospital and that others were examined. They differ slightly on how the injury and his condition are described. Magen David Adom, as quoted in English by The Times of Israel, referred to trauma to the upper body and said the man was in good condition; the Times of Israel headline called the trauma minor. The Hebrew reports from Ynet and N12 both specified a chest injury, and Ynet described his condition as mild. These descriptions are broadly compatible, since the chest is part of the upper body, but they are not identical, and none of the reports explains how the injury was sustained.

Only The Times of Israel and Fabian's channel gave the man's age, citing Magen David Adom. Only N12 named the hospital.

What the reports do not say

• How the man was injured, and whether his injury is connected to the alleged stabbing on board, to efforts to subdue the co-pilot, or to something else during the diversion or the onward journey.
• The man's name, nationality or where he lives.
• The condition of the pilot who was allegedly stabbed, or where he is being treated.
• How many passengers were on board and how many were examined by Magen David Adom on arrival.
• The identity of the co-pilot, his motive, or what legal steps, if any, have been taken against him.
• Any statement from flydubai about the incident or the rescue flight.

This article will be updated if further verified information becomes available.