Centre notifies tighter, more fuel efficient CAFE-III norms The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy norms for passenger vehicles target a 16.7% improvement in fleet-average over five years The benchmark for THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l thursday l october 01, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION INFLIGHT TERROR High drama aboard Flydubai Dubai-Tel Aviv flight as co-pilot stabs captain, tries to crash plane; aircraft plunges 17,000 ft; off-duty pilots take control, make emergency landing A g e n c i e s @ Dubai/Jerusalem Flight FZ1073 1 5.21 am UTC: Flight begins steep descent, followed by a sharp ascent, repeats it, as per Flightradar24 2 2 1 3 4 5.28 am: Aircraft begins squawking 7700, a discreet international code to indicate general emergency 3 05:33 am: Aircraft then oscillates around an altitude of about 15,000 feet. Ground speed varies significantly 4 Route of FlyDubai flight 05:35 am: Switches to squawk 7500, another code to indicate unlawful interference. Flight then turns west, briefly entering Jordanian airspace before turning back 180 degrees and heading southwest toward Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. It switches back to squawk 7700 as it approached Tabuk, lands at 6.58 am A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk airport on Wednesday after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain with a knife and tried to intentionally crash the plane with 174 passengers, most of them Israelis. The incident prompted Israel to close its airspace and scramble warplanes over fears that the jet had been hijacked. Flight-tracking data showed the plane suddenly plummeted, losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute. The aircraft subsequently transmitted emergency signals, including a code indicating possible unlawful interference. Following the pandemonium, two off-duty Flydubai pilots who were travelling in the same plane as passengers entered the cockpit and took control of the flight. The knife-wielding copilot was subdued with the help of passengers and the plane was diverted to Saudi Arabia for emergency landing. The off-duty pilots landed the plane safely and the passengers were later flown to Tel Aviv in another aircraft. “The aircraft was successfully secured by Flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk Airport. All passengers and crew are safe and accounted for,” a Flydubai spokesperson said. Flydubai said the reasons for the fight between the pilots were unknown. “At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation. We urge all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts,” a spokersperson said. The airline said it was cooperating with the relevant authorities and that all passengers were safe. “The captain and copilot were found to have injuries and were transported to hospital,” a statement from the Tabuk airport said. An Israeli official said there may have been an attempt to attack Israelis, and an investigation is ongoing. He said that a “major disaster was narrowly avoided” adding passengers had prevented an ‘Israeli 9/11’ by tying up the assailant. While Flydubai did not disclose the identities of the pilots, some Israeli media outlets identified them as Omani and Emirati nationals. Meanwhile, some reports claimed the captain was Indian national Smit Machchhar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one of the pilots stabbed the other and apparently attempted to crash the aircraft with Israeli passengers on board. He said the pilot who carried out the stabbing had been arrested and was being questioned by Saudi authorities. average fuel consumption will tighten from 3.996 litres per 100 km in 202728 to 3.327 litres per 100 km in 2031-32, a 16.7% improvement. The reference vehicle weight has been raised to 1,229 kg from 1,082 kg under existing norms, meaning relatively softer targets for lighter vehicles and greater efficiency requirements for heavier ones | P10 Battery electric and range-extended electric vehicles will get a 3.0 volume multiplier, meaning every vehicle sold will be counted as three, helping carmakers score more efficiency points than fossil fuel cars The new norms will kick in on April 1, 2027, and will remain in effect till 2032 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ INDIA bloc to take fight against CEC Gyanesh Kumar to streets P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi IN a show of unity, 20 INDIA bloc parties came together here on Wednesday to announce a joint action plan demanding the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a return to ballot papers over EVMs. Kumar has been under Opposition and civil society fire for a week since reports revealed a rift in the functioning of the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. After a three-hour-meeting, the INDIA bloc parties, in a joint press meet, said they would rope in youth and civil society organisations and hold ‘Save Democracy’ marches from October 2-8 before district magistrate offices to press their charge of ‘vote chori’. On October 6, Opposition MPs will march to the EC headquarters in Delhi. Opposition leaders will seek an appointment with the President in the second week of October to submit a representation on the matter. The bloc will also hold five massive rallies across the country in October and November, including one in Delhi on November 1. Congress president Mallikar- Inquiry files against Gyanesh summoned T’Puram: The state home department has summoned files pertaining to the vigilance’s preliminary inquiry against CEC Gyanesh Kumar in 2006 following the suicide of a Malaysian civil engineer. Gyanesh was serving as works secretary in Keralam during the time. P4 jun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, CPM general secretary M A Baby J&K CM Omar Abdullah, , RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule were among those at the meeting. Modi, Trump hold first call since Russia bill’s passage J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump agreed to maintain close engagement to advance the India-US strategic partnership in their first conversation since the US passed the Russia sanctions law. The call also came as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is in the US for talks aimed at advancing a proposed bilateral trade agreement and securing an interim trade arrangement. During the telephone conversation, Modi and Trump reviewed coopera- tion in trade, defence, energy and critical technologies and other areas of mutual interest, a release said. They “reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and agreed to deepen cooperation,” the statement said. “Had a productive conversation with President Trump,” Modi wrote on X. The call came amid trade tensions after the US enactment of the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, allowing the US to slap up to 100% tariffs on buyers of Russian oil and gas. 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express EXPRESS READ Late-night clash sparks tension in T’Puram T’Puram: A late-night clash between Youth Congress and SFI-DYFI workers on Wednesday — involving stone pelting, tyre burning and a police lathicharge — sparked tension in the state capital. P3, P4