Co-Pilot Arrested After Mid-Flight Hijack Bid Near Dubai

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed the arrest of a co-pilot accused of trying to crash a passenger jet travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, describing the mid-air drama as a serious security incident. Authorities allege the Omani national stabbed the aircraft's captain mid-flight in a bid to bring the plane down.

The jet reportedly dropped roughly 14,000 feet in under half a minute during the struggle, a plunge that passengers and crew say came terrifyingly close to a crash landing over Saudi Arabian airspace. Screams filled the cabin as calls for help came from the cockpit. A group of passengers, aided by the wounded captain, forced their way inside and overpowered the co-pilot before off-duty pilots travelling on board helped bring the aircraft down safely in an emergency landing at Tabuk, roughly two hours into the journey.

One traveller recalled watching the captain emerge from the cockpit with blood on his shirt as the aircraft lurched violently. The co-pilot was taken into custody as soon as the plane touched down and remains in Saudi custody, with Israeli officials labelling him a jihadist terrorist. Netanyahu later met with one of the passengers involved in subduing the attacker and wrestling back control of the plane, who said he drew on techniques he had picked up from watching television documentaries about air crash investigations.

In Western Australia, police have spent the day combing a rural property near Geraldton after a dramatic nine-hour manhunt ended in multiple arrests. The operation began about 1am when a 32-year-old man was shot, reportedly suffering pellet wounds, at a property on Allen Road in Moonyoonooka. He was treated at Geraldton Hospital for injuries described as non-life-threatening and has since been released.

Officers traced the alleged shooter to a second address six kilometres away at Utakarra, where armed police backed by a drone surrounded the house and waited for reinforcements before moving in. Five people inside ultimately surrendered, though investigators believe only three were directly involved in the shooting. Police say the victim and the suspects were known to one another, and neighbours told reporters they had heard frequent disturbances, including fighting and fires, at the property in recent weeks, with officers called out as recently as a fortnight ago. A car seized from the scene is being examined as evidence, and the firearm used has not yet been recovered.

Meanwhile, Victoria is bracing for its first doctors' strike in 50 years, with as many as 10,000 public hospital doctors expected to walk off the job for four hours this afternoon. The stoppage follows more than 14 months of stalled negotiations between the doctors' union and the state government. Doctors are pushing for caps on shift lengths and the number of consecutive night shifts they can be rostered for, alongside a pay rise of 28 per cent phased in over four years.