FLYDUBAI FLIGHT TO ISRAEL HIJACKED MID AIR

Flydubai flight FZ1073 left Dubai for Tel Aviv on Wednesday with 174 people on board. Israeli officials say the co-pilot attacked the captain in an apparent attempt to seize control of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, and the jet dropped from about 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in roughly a minute. The co-pilot had been with the airline nine months. Nine months is not even through the probationary period at a Chipotle. Netanyahu said Captain Smit Machchhar, stabbed and seriously injured, fought back, opened the cockpit door and let passengers and crew overpower the attacker. One passenger said they eventually tied the man up with corded headphones after a struggle of roughly 20 to 25 minutes. So the wired earbuds your airline still hands out finally did something. Flydubai's statement said an "altercation occurred in the flight deck" and that the crew secured the aircraft and diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. An altercation. Like somebody reclined too far. The framing is where everyone splits. Israeli officials called it an attempted jihadist terror attack. Other reporting notes investigators have not publicly determined whether the goal was to crash the plane or take hostages. Defense Minister Israel Katz praised the passengers and noted the investigation is ongoing. The co-pilot was arrested and questioned by Saudi authorities.

Why you should give a shit: Aviation spent twenty years armoring that cockpit door against the guys in row 14, but this time the door was the only thing keeping row 14 out of the cockpit that needed them.