Alexander: This is the Lakers’ Great Chemistry Experiment

• October 1, 2026

Yes, the Lakers are indisputably Luka Doncic’s team now. That was a given the moment LeBron James took his talents to Philadelphia (and yes, we’ll get into that in a bit). And the moves that were made over the summer, to provide teammates that would fit Doncic’s style and skills, made it obvious.

But this is also Rob Pelinka’s team, and his responsibility. And the extensive roster revamp carries a risk that could wind up right in the lap of the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, should this go awry.

Remember that Pelinka is an inherited employee, now that the Lakers’ majority ownership has changed for the second time in 14 months. We don’t yet know what new owners Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner have in mind, nor how quick they might be to act should things not go as hoped.

But it’s never wise to assume that there will be patience in the event things go wrong. And be assured: With this organization, any season that falls short of serious contention for Banner No. 18 is a season below expectations.

Which is why LeBron’s comment during the 76ers’ media day on Monday might have reverberated in the Lakers’ building in El Segundo: “I didn’t leave my family to lose in the second round.”

Whether that was meant as a shot at his former team or not, that’s how it sounded to some. And we can debate whether LeBron bolted out the door or was nudged toward the exit. The sense here is that it was indeed a mutual decision but the club made it clear to James and to agent Rich Paul that it was ready to go in a different direction.

And consider this: Since their last full-season championship in 2010, the Lakers have gotten beyond that second round twice – in the COVID bubble in Orlando, Fla., in 2020 when they won Banner No. 17, and in 2023 when Denver swept them in four games in the Western Conference finals.

Otherwise? In those seven other times (in 17 seasons) that they’ve reached the postseason, they were booted in the first round four times, went out in the conference semis three times and reached Game 6 of any of those decisive series only once.

Laker Exceptionalism, then, might still exist in the minds of the fan base or in the halls of the practice facility. But it hasn’t had much impact on the court, in a Western Conference where the Golden State Warriors won four titles in eight seasons and the road to a banner now runs through Oklahoma City and San Antonio.

Will a field trip to Slovenia help change the Lakers’ fortunes? We’ll find out, and it probably was an inspired idea for Doncic to pick up the tab for his teammates to join him in his home country for a four-day minicamp in August. That trip featured not only basketball but golf, sightseeing and, most importantly, bonding.

“It was an amazing trip,” Doncic told reporters at Monday’s Media Day. “It was very important for me to show them where I’m from, and I think everybody liked it.”

And, in an interview with the Spectrum SportsNet crew that day, he added: “It was very important to get to know the guys outside of basketball and just spend time together.”

We know this: Many of the acquisitions this offseason – 7-foot-2 rim protector and lob threat Walker Kessler, 6-9 power forward Sandro Mamukelashvili, backup center Kevon Looney, forward (and former Bronny James high school teammate) Ziaire Williams, and veteran guards Matisse Thybulle, Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes and Jaden Hardy – were considered largely because of their fit with Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Sometimes the expectations might be overly ebullient. The Spectrum SportsNet guys were throwing out comparisons between Kessler and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, which seems a little over the top. Then again, Pelinka did spend first-round draft picks in 2031 and ’33 and swaps of first-rounders in ’28 and ’30 – followed by a four-year, $130 million contract – for a guy who has averaged 9.5 points. 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 bloced shots in 201 NBA games, and who played just five games last season before needing surgery to repair a torn labrum.

Whether it’s realistic or otherwise, much is expected.

“I feel 110 percent,” Kessler said Monday. “I mean, my shoulder feels better than it’s ever felt. So to have that confidence in playing is going to be really important. … It’s back to better than it was.”

In that same session Kessler addressed what almost assuredly is the elephant in the room. With this franchise, like few others in sports – the Boston Celtics in the NBA, for example, or teams like the Dodgers and New York Yankees in baseball – history mandates that the expectations become greater as soon as a player pulls on the uniform.

And for those who don’t meet those expectations, the pressure also becomes greater.

“I mean, it’s one of the biggest brands in all of sports internationally,” Kessler said. “Everyone loves the Lakers and wants them to succeed, and that can be looked at as pressure, so to speak.

“But I think it’s more of an opportunity to play for a historic franchise, to play for a franchise that has done – I mean, you can look to your left and see it,” he added, gesturing to where a row of Lawrence O’Brien Trophies were lined up in an office window overlooking the practice court.

“I mean, it’s insane. To play for a history like this, I don’t really feel pressure. I just feel grateful, grateful for this opportunity and grateful to play for this franchise.”

This is an experiment. If the chemistry is right and it works, this could be a fun season to watch.

If it isn’t and it doesn’t, the fallout could include Pelinka’s job.

jalexander@scng.com

​ Orange County Register 

Yorba Linda football forfeits four wins due to CIF-SS violations

• September 30, 2026

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Yorba Linda’s football team has forfeited four victories because of CIF-SS violations that involved administrative oversight and undue influence, the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District stated Wednesday.

Yorba Linda, ranked No. 12 in Orange County, has submitted forfeits for its wins against Laguna Beach, Long Beach Poly, El Dorado and Esperanza, a district spokesperson confirmed.

Huntington Beach rallied to defeat Yorba Linda 29-25 on Friday, Sept. 18.

The forfeits drop the Mustangs’ record to 0-5 entering their Alpha League debut at No. 6 San Clemente (5-0) on Friday.

The district stated that the CIF-SS “determined” the violations Tuesday.

“The substantiated violations involve more than one student and more than one incident,” the district disclosed in a statement. “The investigation documented deficiencies over time in eligibility verification, communication between coaches and athletic administration and participation clearance.”

“These findings support the district’s conclusion that institutional failures occurred in the oversight of the athletic department and football coaching staff.”

The district stated the CIF-SS found that Yorba Linda violated section bylaws 503 B (1) and 510.

Bylaw 510 covers “undue influence, pre-enrollment contact, disclosing pre-enrollment contact and athletically motivated transfers.”

Bylaw 503 B (1) addresses administrative oversight, ineligible athletes and penalties.

The Yorba Linda High athletic department on Wednesday referred an inquiry to the district.

“In coordination with CIF-SS, Yorba Linda High School and Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District administrators have taken the necessary corrective measures to ensure the football program remains eligible to compete in Alpha League contests and maintains the opportunity to qualify for CIF-SS competition,” the district stated.

“The (district) remains committed to supporting students and maintaining athletic programs that follow CIF-SS rules and expectations,” the press release continued. “Yorba Linda High School football student-athletes have dedicated significant time, effort and commitment to their team and school.”

“The district’s focus now is on supporting, maintaining the integrity of the program and ensuring they have the opportunity to successfully complete the remainder of their season.”

Yorba Linda is playing its first season under coach John Domen, a former assistant under longtime coach Jeff Bailey.

Bailey stunned many Orange County football observers in the offseason by resigning at Yorba Linda to take the helm at Beverly Hills.

This is a breaking news story. More details to come.

​ Orange County Register 

Fontana man convicted in sweeping $2 million federal cargo theft case

• September 30, 2026

Two Indian nationals who allegedly operated within a larger network of alleged cargo thieves have been convicted by a federal jury on conspiring to steal more than $2 million worth of cargo from Southern California warehouses.

Arshpreet Singh, 28, of Sacramento and Vikramjeet Singh, 31, of Fontana were found guilty Tuesday, Sept. 29, of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate or foreign shipments following a seven-day trial. Arshpreet Singh also was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, but his co-defendant was acquitted of the same charge, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutors said in a news release that the thefts occurred across Southern California, including Fontana, Chino, Vernon, Perris, Santa Fe Springs, City of Industry, Long Beach and Moreno Valley, from March 2024 through June 2025.

The defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly purchased or fraudulently used established trucking companies to bid on legitimate shipping contracts. After securing loads, they took possession of the cargo and stole it rather than delivering it to its intended destinations.

In one example cited by federal prosecutors, Arshpreet Singh helped purchase Z&F Transportation LLC in Denton, Texas, for about $22,000. Later that month, an unnamed co-conspirator acted as a representative of Z&F Transportation to pick up televisions in Fontana that were supposed to be delivered to Florida but never arrived.

In May 2024, the defendants purchased a carrier company called Skyways Trucking LLC, which was used to steal multiple shipments of laptop computers, televisions, solar panels and other items in Fontana, Perris, Irwindale, City of Industry and Long Beach. Co-conspirators booked loads through brokers such as Uber Freight, picked up loads, then never delivered them to their intended destinations, according to federal prosecutors.

The two are scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 20, 2027, before U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang in Los Angeles. Arshpreet Singh faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, while Vikramjeet Singh faces up to five years.

The case is an example of a more sophisticated form of cargo theft that has become increasingly common in Southern California, in which organized thieves employ digital technology and fraud to exploit weaknesses in the region’s sprawling transportation and logistics network.

While traditional cargo thefts — such as break-ins at trucking companies and warehouses — continue, criminal groups increasingly use fraudulent identities, stolen or cloned motor-carrier numbers and legitimate-looking trucking companies to deceive shippers and brokers and obtain high-value loads. The industry refers to such schemes as “strategic cargo theft” or “fictitious pickups.”

Southern California is particularly vulnerable because of its vast logistics network, anchored by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and extending through warehouses, railyards and trucking corridors across the Inland Empire and Los Angeles County. Industry and law enforcement officials have described the region as a major hub for cargo theft, with criminals targeting freight worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

The convictions are part of a broader multiagency investigation that led to two separate federal cases involving groups that prosecutors say were not related to one another, despite similarities in their alleged methods.

From March 2021 to June 2025, a multiagency investigation led by the FBI’s Inland Violent Crime Suppression Task Force, with participation from the San Bernardino and Riverside county sheriff’s departments, Fontana police, California Highway Patrol and other agencies, resulted in the arrests of 12 people in connection with cargo thefts in Southern California and Texas. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department initially referred to the group as the “Singh Organization,” but the investigation ultimately resulted in two separate federal indictments, filed in September and October 2025, involving two unrelated alleged crime rings.

Arshpreet and Vikramjeet Singh were indicted on Oct. 1, 2025, along with Narayan Singh, Bikramjit Singh and Himmat Singh Khalsa. Narayan Singh is incarcerated in Texas on similar state charges. Bikramjit Singh is a fugitive believed by U.S. law enforcement to be in India, and Himmat Singh Khalsa pleaded guilty Sept. 8, but sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

On Sept. 19, 2025, Paramvir Singh and six others were indicted in a similar cargo theft case. Paramvir Singh pleaded guilty on Aug. 13 and is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 29 before U.S. District Judge Kenly Kiya Kato in Riverside.

Defendants Sandeep Singh, Gurnaik Singh Chauhan, Ranjodh Singh and Elgar Rolando Hernandez pleaded not guilty and their trial is scheduled for March 22, 2027. Another defendant, Harpreet Singh, is a fugitive, while charges against defendant Mandeep Singh were dismissed May 6, court records show.

None of the defendants is blood related, said Justice Department spokesman Ciaran McEvoy.

​ Orange County Register 

Fryer on Football: Previews and predictions for Week 6’s top games

• September 30, 2026

Previews and predictions for the top football games in Orange County this week. The teams are listed by their ranking this week in the Orange County Top 25.

GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 2 Mater Dei (4-1) vs. No. 1 Santa Margarita (5-0)

Where, when: Saddleback College, Friday, 7 p.m.

Live coverage: Spectrum News 1

Analysis: Santa Margarita was the No. 1 team in our Orange County preseason rankings and has played like it. The Eagles go into the Trinity League opener having outscored their opponents, 178-27. Junior quarterback Fletch Palmer, son of coach Carson Palmer, has been steady. Fletch Palmer has completed 66 percent of his passes for 770 yards and six touchdowns. Sophomore running back Adrian Petero (5-6, 190) has rushed for 443 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Eagles’ offensive line has been splendid. The defense has been the real strength for Santa Margarita’s team. Freshman linebacker Ayden Steen has team highs of 16 solo tackles and 10 tackles for loss including five sacks. This will be Mater Dei’s first game since it lost to Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas 25-8 on Sept. 18. The Monarchs have used a three-quarterback rotation. Freshman Paytyn Guess got most of the snaps in the second half of the Bishop Gorman game, so maybe he will get even more playing time Friday. Mater Dei has its usual massive offensive line and quick guys on defense like senior linebackers DJ Clanton and Michael Davis, who are the team’s leading tacklers. It is a good Mater Dei defense. The issue for the Monarchs is generating enough offense to keep up with Santa Margarita.

Winner: Santa Margarita

No. 7 Servite (3-2) vs. No. 3 Orange Lutheran (3-2)

Where, when: Orange Coast College, Friday, 7 p.m.

Analysis: It looks like the top three teams in the Trinity League are, in order, Santa Margarita, St. John Bosco, Mater Dei. The top three finishers in a six-team league like the Trinity League are automatic qualifiers for the CIF-SS playoffs. To qualify for an at-large berth, a team must have an overall record of .300 or better. Both of these teams will be at least .300 teams. Without getting too much into how the HSratings.com numbers will be applied, this is a big game for Servite and Orange Lutheran. While the other Trinity League teams took their bye week last week, Servite went on the road and beat Damien 28-9. Ultra-quick running back Jorden Wells had another fine game for the Friars, rushing for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Gino Wang was 12 for 15 for 118 passing yards. The defense was fast and tough. Orange Lutheran’s losses were to Sierra Canyon, 28-10, and Miami Central, 23-22, the No. 9 and No. 23 teams, respectively, in HSratings’ national rankings. The Lancers looked great in their 23-17 win over Basha a few weeks ago when Basha was the No. 1-ranked team in Arizona. Orange Lutheran has used senior Reagan Toki and sophomore Ezrah Brown at quarterback fairly equally, although Brown has more pass attempts, 77-45. The Lancers have a fine running back, sophomore Ryan Christianson, who has rushed for 560 yards and five touchdowns. He can push the pile or scoot outside equally well. Defensive back King Rich Johnson has returned two interceptions for touchdowns. A good place to have team speed is on defense, and the Lancers look to have plenty of it there. That could make a difference in this game, which promises to be entertaining.

Winner: Orange Lutheran

No. 8 Corona del Mar (5-0) vs. No. 13 Villa Park (5-0)

Where, when: El Modena High, Friday, 7 p.m.

Analysis: This is a league opener in the Bravo League. Both teams go into league undefeated, as do Capistrano Valley and La Habra, while Tustin is 4-1 and Crean Lutheran is 3-2. Corona del Mar has wins over two teams in the Orange County Top 25, Edison and Newport Harbor. Junior quarterback JD Annett has captained the offensive ship well and has consistent receiver targets in JJ Haley and Nolan Scott, who have 20 catches each. Defense, though, is really what has given the Sea Kings solid footing in the county Top 10. They have held four of their opponents to single-digit scoring. Corona del Mar has 14 sacks led by senior lineman Troy Merriman’s four. Villa Park’s average margin of victory is 59 points. But that Spartans schedule isn’t the strongest. The teams they have played are a combined 5-25. There is a lot to like about Villa Park. Sophomore quarterback Jacob Titchenal is one of those “huge upside” guys. He has completed 80 percent of his passes for 837 yards and 15 touchdowns without an interception. Junior running back Coy Collins runs like his father did at Loara in the 1990s. Linebacker Maverick DeClark spearheads a hard-hitting Spartans defense. Corona del Mar’s 5-0 record is more impressive because of its schedule. The Sea Kings defense is going to be unlike anything Villa Park has seen this season.

Winner: Corona del Mar

No. 9 Crean Lutheran (3-2) vs. No. 11 Tustin (4-1)

Where, when: Tustin High, Friday, 7 p.m.

Analysis: This is another great league opener in the Bravo League. Crean Lutheran has a strong quarterback-receiver connection in senior quarterback Caden Jones (2,588 passing yards, 12 touchdowns) and senior receiver Braylen Ross (646 receiving yards). The Saints have faced a very challenging schedule. They have losses to JSerra and Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills. Tustin might have the defense to slow down Crean Lutheran. Safety Khalil Terry could be used to help cover Ross. Defensive lineman Jeremiah Williams can squish a pocket. On offense, junior Ayden Edwards returned from an injury last week, which allowed Hayden Koo to return to receiver. If the offense is healthy and the Tillers attack on defense, Tustin will win.

Winner: Tustin

Cypress (4-1) vs. Pacifica (5-0)

Where, when: Bolsa Grande High, Friday, 7 p.m.

Analysis: This Iota League game might ultimately decide the league champion. Cypress was rolling along until a 21-7 loss to Foothill on Sept. 18. Junior quarterback Justin Hall has played well, throwing for 908 yards and nine touchdowns, but the Centurions will need to get more production from their running game to beat Pacifica. The Mariners have allowed only 46 points over five games, including shutouts of Garden Grove and Canyon. A good way to keep opponents from scoring is clock control. Pacifica is very good there. The Mariners average 271 rushing yards a game, led by senior back Zach Dickison’s 119 yards a game. Dickison also has 11 rushing touchdowns. On defense, Dickison plays linebacker and is tied with linebacker Michael McGuigan for team highs in solo tackles (18). Look for Pacifica’s defense and running game to mash a path to a very important victory.

Winner: Pacifica

Fryer on Football last week: 3-2

Season to date: 18-12

​ Orange County Register 

Video shows woman intentionally ran over puppy with minivan, Santa Ana police say

• September 30, 2026

Santa Ana police were searching for a woman who was captured on a home surveillance camera in a green or blue minivan intentionally running over and killing a pitbull mix, authorities said while posting graphic video on social media on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

The dog was found in the street across from 926 W. Park Ln. on September 8, the department said. Police said the attack took place around 9:15 a.m.

Video from the house across the street showed a female driver in an older model Honda Odyssey stopped along the street, the driver is seen opening the door and putting the dog on the ground.

The dog goes under the minivan and the driver puts food down on the street underneath the driver’s door. As the dog approaches the food, the driver moves forward until the rear driver’s side tire runs on top of the dog. The driver keeps the minivan stopped on the dog for about 15 seconds before driving off.

Police said she fled northbound on Lowell Street.

After officers arrived to the area, a resident reported seeing the minivan parked near the area and believed the driver intentionally ran over the puppy, police said. Over several weeks, officers and animal services officials canvassed the area for surveillance video and found one that corroborated the resident’s statement.

Investigators were not able to get a license plate off the video and were asking for the public’s help in identifying the woman or the vehicle. Anyone with information was asked to call 714-245-8378.

​ Orange County Register 

Judge approves Paramount’s settlement with states over Warner buyout, allowing merger to soon close

• September 30, 2026

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has now granted Paramount’s settlement agreement with 12 states that sued over the company’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, allowing the companies to soon close their $81 billion mega merger.

In a Wednesday order, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled that the proposed consent decree was a “fair, reasonable, and good faith approach to address the competitive harms” alleged by the states’ lawsuit. Paramount previously called the antitrust challenge the last hurdle ahead of closing its Warner merger, and signaled that it aims to close its Warner acquisition as soon as early October.

Shortly after Martínez-Olguín’s ruling on Wednesday afternoon, the company announced that Ynon Kreiz — current chief executive at toy giant Mattel — will join Paramount on Oct. 5 and serve as co-CEO alongside David Ellison of the combined company.

A Paramount-Warner marriage will bring together two of Hollywood’s last five legacy studios. HBO Max, a library full of titles including “Harry Potter” and cable networks such as CNN will also find themselves under the same roof with CBS, the likes of the “Top Gun” franchise and the Paramount+ streaming service.

Top prosecutors from 12 states — led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta — sued in July with an initial goal of blocking the merger altogether. They alleged a Paramount-Warner combo would “extinguish competition” and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly movie theatergoers and cable customers.

Last week, the states agreed to settle these claims through new commitments from Paramount, including pledges to increase film production in the U.S. over the next five years, commit millions of dollars to a fund aimed at supporting workers displaced by the merger and establish new editorial monitoring of CNN and CBS.

When announcing the deal on Sept. 21, Bonta said the settlement was about “protecting people’s careers, the lives they’ve built here in California, the livelihoods their families rely on,” while maintaining it was not a vote of support for the merger.

Many critics of the tie-up, however, quickly decried the deal as capitulating to corporate pressure and said the proposed terms were too weak. Martínez-Olguín didn’t greenlight the terms right away — maintaining at a hearing on Thursday that the court isn’t merely a “rubber stamp” on a settlement of this kind and that she, like many others, still had questions.

The judge granted outside critics of the settlement — including members of the Block The Merger coalition and the League of United Latin American Citizens — a brief window to share their opposition with the court through amicus briefs. She also instructed Paramount and the settling states to respond to a letter from Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, who called for a more thorough review of the deal.

By Wednesday’s order, however, she concluded that the hopes for settlement terms to go further “do not rise to the level of legal violations upon which the Court can reject the parties’ negotiated resolution.”

The Block the Merger coalition on Wednesday maintained the settlement was a “toothless” deal.

“Allowing the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger to move forward with no meaningful structural remedies will cost jobs, mute creativity, weaken independent journalism, and damage our First Amendment rights,” Block the Merger said in a statement. But, the coalition added, “if there is one discernible benefit to the approval of this corporate takeover, it’s that people are now wide awake and paying attention –- and their anger is not going to fade away.”

The Writers Guild of America, which had filed its own suit shortly after the states in July, also reached a settlement agreement with Paramount last week — concluding that it couldn’t continue its legal fight alone.

​ Orange County Register 

Mind reader Peter Antoniou brings Brain Teaser tour to Anaheim and Los Angeles

• September 30, 2026

Comedian and mind reader Peter Antoniou is bringing his latest Brain Teaser interactive tour to Southern California for back-to-back performances next spring.

Antoniou is set to stop at  The Grove of Anaheim on Thursday, April 1, followed by a show at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday, April 2.

Presales for the Southern California dates are currently underway from Citi at citientertainment.com and from Live Nation at livenation.com/peter-antoniou-events. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2.

The British performer combines stand-up comedy, crowd work and mind reading, building each show around interactions with audience members. Because spectators become part of the performance, the material and demonstrations can change from night to night.

The newly announced Brain Teaser show follows Antoniou’s Pretty Psychic tour and promises a larger take on the format that has become central to his live performances.

“This show is bigger, bolder, and more ambitious than anything I’ve done before,” Antoniou shared in a recent press release. “The only missing piece is your brain.”

Antoniou began exploring mind reading and illusion after developing an interest in tarot cards as a child. He has since performed internationally, including headlining appearances in Las Vegas, while also building an audience through television, radio and social media appearances.

​ Orange County Register 

What to know about the terrifying FlyDubai flight forced to land in Saudi Arabia

• September 30, 2026

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS

One pilot stabbed another and attempted to crash a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, according to Israel’s prime minister.

Passengers, many of them Israelis, feared for their lives as the FlyDubai aircraft lost half its altitude in about a minute.

As Israel scrambled fighter jets out of concern for a possible hijacking, a passenger and crew member broke into the cockpit to subdue the attacker and other crew members gained control of the aircraft, which landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

It was not clear what motivated Wednesday’s attack.

The terrifying flight occurred just days before the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that launched the war in Gaza. It has rekindled anxieties about airline security and focused attention on an unsettling question: Are pilots a significant threat to the flying public’s safety?

Here’s what we know — and don’t know — about what happened on FlyDubai flight FZ1073:

A fight, an alert and a rapid descent

The distress call came at 8:44 a.m. local time, about two and a half hours after the flight with about 170 passengers left Dubai and headed to Tel Aviv.

The captain and first officer had been fighting in the cockpit after one tried to stab the other and crash the aircraft, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The aircraft swiftly lost altitude — dropping from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet (around 10,000 meters to 5,100 meters) in the span of about a minute. It then circled close to the Jordanian border before landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, about an hour later.

Both pilots suffered injuries that required hospital treatment, according to a statement from Tabuk’s Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport. Netanyahu said Saudi Arabia had arrested one of the pilots.

A plane carrying passengers from the flight landed Wednesday evening in Israel.

Passengers and crew wrest control

A passenger and a crew member managed to break into the cockpit, enabling other crew members to enter and fly the plane to a safe landing, according to Netanyahu, who cited a passenger he had spoken to.

The cockpit door on all aircraft is locked during flight for security reasons — a measure that became the industry standard after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, in which hijackers broke into the cockpits of four domestic flights in the United States.

It’s unclear how the passenger and crew managed to get into the FlyDubai cockpit since aircraft doors are reinforced to withstand attempts to break them down.

What security checks do pilots and crew undergo?

One question surrounding this incident is how anyone on the aircraft — even a pilot — was able to get a knife onboard. It’s unclear how big the knife was that was used in the attack.

Pilots undergo rigorous screening, including passing through metal detectors, at checkpoints at all airports. It’s also standard for airlines to vet their pilots’ background for criminal and employment history, their physical and mental health, as well as having them undergo intelligence and security screening.

Israel has some of the most stringent airline security measures worldwide. Passengers on Israel-bound flights regularly are taken aside for questioning and baggage searches after passing through normal airport security. It’s uncertain whether the pilots of the FlyDubai flight had been screened as vigorously.

There have been extremely rare occasions when airline security protocols fail. In 2015, the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 locked the captain out of the cockpit and deliberately set the plane on a collision course with a mountainside, killing all 150 people aboard.

​ Orange County Register