BREAKING: Cockpit stabbing likely a 'terror attack,' Israeli defense chief says

>> Dana: WELCOME BACK TO. BREAKING COVERAGE OF THIS FLIGHT. FLYDUBAI THAT HAD VERY. DISTURBING INCIDENT OVERNIGHT. POSSIBLE HOSTAGE SITUATION, POSSIBLE TERRORIST ATTACK. ATTEMPT. BUT THAT IT WAS THWARTED. WE'RE WAITING ON ALL THE. DETAILS. SCREEN LEFT WE'RE WAITING FOR. THE PASSENGERS OF THAT FLIGHT TO. ARRIVE BACK IN TEL AVIV WHERE. THEY WERE INITIALLY GOING BUT. THEN THE FLIGHT THANKFULLY WAS. ABLE TO LAND SAFELY IN SAUDI.

ARABIA. THEY'LL HAVE SO MANY STORIES TO. TELL. WE'LL GET TO MUCH MORE OF IT AS. WE GET BREAKING DETAILS. LET'S GET TO JEFF PAUL IN TEL. AVIV WITH AN UPDATE. HI, JEFF, GOOD MORNING. >> WE JUST GOT AN UPDATE FROM. ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER KATZ. CALLING IT A SERIOUS INCIDENT. AND GOING OUT THERE AND SAYING. IT WAS AN ATTEMPTED JIHADIST. TERROR ATTACK. KATZ SAID IT WAS THWARTED BY THE.

BRAVEY OF SEVERAL ISRAELI. PASSENGERS WHO BROKE INTO THE. COCKPIT. NETANYAHU SAID DURING THE FLIGHT. ONE OF THE PILOTS STABBED THE. OTHER PILOT. ACCORDING TO PRELIMINARY. INFORMATION THE ATTACKER IN HIS. MIND HAD ONE INTENTION AND THAT. WAS TO CRASH THE AIRCRAFT WITH. EVERYONE ON BOARD. SOME OF THE IMAGES THAT WE HAVE. SEEN SHOW PASSENGERS COVERED IN. BLOOD AS THEY WORKED TO TRY TO. GET THINGS UNDER CONTROL. THIS INCIDENT INVOLVING FLIGHT.

FZ1073 FLYING FROM DUBAI TO TEL. AVIV. IT WITH AS SUPPOSED TO ARRIVE. SEVERAL HOURS LATER. MANY FAMILIES WAITING FOR THOSE. PASSENGERS TO FINALLY ARRIVE. BUT AFTER IT WAS FLYING FOR. ABOUT 2 1/2 HOURS, IT WAS. GETTING NEAR JORDANIAN AIRSPACE. WHEN THE FIGHT BROKE OUT. PASSENGERS ON BOARD REPORTED. HEARING A LOT OF COMMOTION AND. THE FLIGHT JUST TOOK A NOSE-DIVE. GOING DOWN BY ABOUT 16,000 FEET, DANA. >> Dana: JEFF PAUL, THANK YOU SO. MUCH. WE ARE GETTING ALL THESE.

BREAKING DETAILS. BILL HAS MORE NOW. >> Bill: LET'S BRING IN MATTHEW. WHIZ BUCKLEY, WHIZ, WELCOME TO. OUR COVERAGE. I WILL TRY TO EXPLAIN AS BEST WE. CAN. THERE IS A LOT TO FIGURE OUT. STILL. THE SQUAWK TRANSMISSION THAT. GOES TO THE TRANSPONDER, IT. SENDS OUT A SIGNAL AT 7700 SEND. ITS TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL. THAT'S INTENDED TO REPRESENT A. GENERAL EMERGENCY.

THEN THE SQUAWK AS IT IS CALLED. CHANGES SEVEN MINUTES LATER TO. 7500 WHICH STANDS FOR UNLAWFUL. INTERFERENCE. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT. SOMEONE ON BOARD THAT PLANE, PILOT, CO-PILOT OR SOMEONE ELSE. HAS TO PUNCH THOSE NUMBERS IN. HOW DOES IT WORK? >> GOOD MORNING, BILL. YOU NAILED IT ABSOLUTELY. 7700 IS DIALING 911. THAT SHOWS EVERY RADAR SCOPE IN. THE AREA THAT THIS AIRCRAFT IS. DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

THEN AFTER THAT 7500 UNLAWFUL --. WE USE TERM HIJACKING. SOMEBODY IS TRYING TO TAKE OVER. THE AIRCRAFT OR IT HAS BEEN. TAKEN OVER. SO AS SOON AS THEY SAW THAT, ISRAELIS ARE GOING TO SCRAMBLE. FIGHTER JETS. I WAS IN A SIMILAR ROLE THE. MORNING OF 9/11 SCHEDULED FOR MY. FIRST FLIGHT AS A PILOT FOR. AMERICAN AIRLINES. SAW THE SECOND PLANE HIT AND. WENT TO FORT WORTH. I WENT FROM FLYING IN AN.

AIRLINER TO SHOOTING ONE DOWN. LIKE THIS. THANK GOD THE ISRAELIS DIDN'T. HAVE TO DO THIS. IT IS REALLY INTERESTING. WE'LL HAVE TO DIG INTO THIS. BUT ANY HUMAN FLYING ON AN. AIRLINER INTO ISRAEL AFTER THE. OCTOBER 7TH ATTACKS AND FLYDUBAI. IS ONE OF THE HANDFUL OF. AIRLINES THAT DOES THIS ROUTE. THEY KNOW EVERYBODY ON THE. AIRPLANE AND WHY ISRAELIS ARE. COMING OUT QUICKLY. THEY KNOW WHO THE CO-PILOT IS. I GUARANTEE YOU, THEIR VERSION. OF AIR MARSHALS WERE ON BOARD.

THIS AIRPLANE. THE FACT THERE IS A DEAD HEADING. CREW OR SPARE CREW ON THE. AIRPLANE WHO TOOK OVER AND. LANDED THIS AIRPLANE SAFELY IS. PRETTY INCREDIBLE. >> Bill: ALL THIS HAPPENED. WITHIN A PERIOD OF SIX OR SEVEN. MINUTES, I WOULD SAY, IN TOTAL. I'VE SEEN SOME VIDEO ONLINE. HASN'T BEEN VERIFIED YET BUT IT. IS AN INDIVIDUAL I FOLLOWED FOR. YEARS AND I TRUST HIS. CORRESPONDENTS. IT WAS A BLOODY SEEN OUTSIDE THE. CONFLICT. TWO MEN FIGHTING FOR THEIR.

LIVES. TRY TO PIECE THIS TOGETHER AND. YOU TALKED ABOUT PUTTING THE. DIGITS IN THIS TRANSMISSION THAT. GOES TO THE TRANSPONDER THAT I. BELIEVE ON THIS PLANE IS LOCATED. AS I STATED BEFORE BETWEEN THE. SEATS OF THE PILOT AND THE. CO-PILOT. IT IS RIGHT THERE. WE REMEMBER FROM 9/11 THOSE. HIJACKERS TURNED THE. TRANSPONDERS OFF SO WE COULDN'T. TRACK THEM. IT IS A VERY EASY THING TO DO. A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD BE. SURPRISED TO SEE THAT. IF A CO-PILOT IS ATTACKING A.

PILOT, THE PILOT CAN'T PUNCH IN. THOSE NUMBERS TELL AIR TRAFFIC. CONTROL THEY HAVE AN EMERGENCY. IT WAS IN ALL LIKELIHOOD SOMEONE. ELSE. >> CORRECT. IT WAS PROBABLY. >> Bill: I WANT TO PAINT THE. PICTURE HERE. THEN THE QUESTION BECOMES HOW. DID THEY GET INSIDE THE COCKPIT. IF THE RULES FOR THAT AIRPLANE. ARE THE KEEP THE COCKPIT DOOR. LOCKED? JUST TRY TO PUT ALL THAT. TOGETHER FOR OUR AUDIENCE IF YOU. COULD, PAINT A PICTURE BASED ON. HOW WE'RE TRYING TO PIECE THIS.

TOGETHER. >> IT SOUNDS LIKE HAVING THAT. BACKUP CREW OR DEAD HEADING CREW. OR WHOEVER THAT WAS ON BOARD THE. AIRCRAFT COULD GET ACCESS TO THE. COCKPIT. I DON'T THINK BASED ON THE. TIMELINE, BILL, THE SQUAWK WAS. ENTERED UNTIL AFTER THINGS HAD. ALREADY HAPPENED. THIS AIRLINER WENT FROM ABOUT. 34,000 FEET DOWN TO -- THEY LOST. ABOUT 20,000 FEET IN ALTITUDE IN. 30 SECONDS TO A MINUTE. THEY EXCEEDED THE MAX OPERATING. SPEED OF THIS AIRCRAFT BY AT.

LEAST 100 KNOTS. YOU HAVE PROBABLY SEEN PICTURES. THEY RIPPED THE RUDDER OFF ITS. TAIL. A FAMOUS INCIDENT AT FEDEX AIR. CREW WHO TRIED TO CRASH A FEDEX. FLIGHT IT WAS A BLOODY SCENE. SADLY, THIS ISN'T NEW BUT THIS. CLEARLY WAS GOING TO BE A. TERRORIST ATTACK AND THE ISRAELI. SADLY FLIGHT 93 TAUGHT THE WORLD.

THOSE PASSENGERS WILL HAVE TO. GET INVOLVED, TOO. THANK GOD THE BRAVE ISRAELIS. STOOD UP AND TOOK CONTROL AS. WELL. >> Bill: DO YOU THINK THEY HAVE. MOST OF THEIR ANSWERS ALREADY? IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE REFERRING. TO. >> THEY DO. IF YOU GET ON ANY FLIGHT IN. ISRAEL. THERE ARE SECURITY FORCES. INTERVIEWING THE PASSENGERS AND. KNOW THE AIR CREW. ISRAEL KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED AND. THANK GOD IT WASN'T AN AIRCRAFT.

HAVING TO BE SHOT DOWN. I REMEMBER A GENERAL SAYING WHIZ. IF YOU DON'T ANYBODY IN YOUR. AIRPLANE WILLING TO SHOOT DOWN. OTHER AIRPLANES WITH.