Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a pilot aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv stabbed another pilot and apparently attempted to crash the aircraft before passengers and crew intervened. The plane plunged thousands of feet, triggering fears of a hijacking and prompting Israel to scramble fighter jets before the aircraft landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
By Open Chronicle with agencies | September 30, 2026
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that a pilot aboard a Flydubai passenger aircraft stabbed another pilot and apparently attempted to crash the plane during a flight carrying dozens of Israelis from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.
Passengers and crew members intervened during the emergency, according to Netanyahu, eventually subduing the alleged attacker and helping regain control of the aircraft.
The plane subsequently made an emergency landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi authorities arrested one of the pilots, Netanyahu said.
The extraordinary episode initially raised fears that the aircraft had been hijacked, prompting Israel to scramble fighter jets as authorities attempted to determine what was happening aboard the flight.
Aircraft plunged thousands of feet
Flydubai flight FZ 1073 had departed Dubai for Ben Gurion Airport when the emergency developed approximately two and a half hours into the journey.
Flight tracking information showed the aircraft descending from around 33,000 feet to approximately 17,000 feet in roughly one minute.
The aircraft then made an erratic circle near the Jordanian border before continuing toward Tabuk.
According to the airport, the Flydubai aircraft transmitted a distress call at 8:44 a.m. local time.
It landed safely at 9:45 a.m.
The dramatic loss of altitude and emergency transmission immediately raised concerns about a possible attempt to seize control of the aircraft.
Netanyahu describes intervention inside cockpit
Netanyahu provided additional details after speaking with one of the passengers.
According to the prime minister’s account, a passenger and a crew member managed to enter the cockpit as the aircraft began descending.
Other crew members subsequently took control of the aircraft.
“I salute these heroes who showed exceptional resourcefulness and courage,” Netanyahu said.
“They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster.”
The precise sequence of events inside the cockpit remains under investigation.
Netanyahu’s statement represents the most serious account yet of an incident initially described by officials as an altercation between the aircraft’s pilots.
Captain and first officer taken to hospital
Both the captain and first officer were injured during the incident and were transported to hospital, according to a statement from Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport carried by Saudi state television.
Passengers were also receiving medical attention from Saudi authorities following the emergency landing.
Video circulating on social media and reviewed by the Associated Press appeared to show two injured men lying on the floor of the aircraft.
The men appeared to have bloody wounds.
Two people could be seen providing emergency medical assistance while two others appeared to be guarding the cockpit.
“We are guarding the pilot,” one person could be heard saying in Hebrew.
Another video showed distressed passengers crying as the aircraft shook.
Passengers heard cries for help
Accounts from relatives and passengers provide further indications of the confusion inside the aircraft.
Yasmin Abukasis, whose daughter was aboard the flight, said her daughter told her by telephone that she heard someone screaming for help.
According to Abukasis, the aircraft then appeared to lose control, causing passengers to scream.
Her daughter said two people described as pilots eventually managed to regain control of the aircraft while others restrained an attacker on the floor.
Other passengers told Israeli television that people seated closer to the front of the aircraft heard shouting connected to an altercation between the pilots.
The aircraft then entered a steep descent.
Possible hijacking signal triggered Israeli response
The incident quickly became a national security concern for Israel.
An Israeli official confirmed that fighter aircraft were scrambled because authorities initially feared that the Flydubai plane had been hijacked.
The response reflected both the nature of the emergency and Israel’s heightened security posture.
The country is approaching the anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel and is also only weeks away from an election.
Netanyahu has warned in recent days of unspecified heightened security threats.
Against that background, an unexplained emergency involving an Israel bound civilian aircraft immediately generated concern that the episode could represent a deliberate attack.
Flydubai confirms incident
Flydubai confirmed that flight FZ 1073, travelling to Ben Gurion Airport, experienced an incident and diverted to Saudi Arabia.
“Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities,” the airline said.
The carrier did not immediately provide a detailed public account of what happened inside the cockpit.
Flydubai is a Dubai based carrier operating an extensive regional and international network and is associated with the wider Emirates aviation group.
The United Arab Emirates has become a popular destination for Israeli travellers since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 2020.
Saudi Arabia became emergency destination
The decision to land at Tabuk added another unusual dimension to the incident.
Saudi Arabia and Israel do not maintain formal diplomatic relations.
However, Riyadh ended its longstanding prohibition on Israeli aircraft using Saudi airspace in 2022.
Saudi authorities have since coordinated several emergency landings involving aircraft carrying Israeli passengers.
In 2023, for example, an aircraft carrying Israelis landed in Saudi Arabia after suffering an electrical malfunction.
Wednesday’s incident was considerably more serious because authorities initially suspected unlawful interference with the flight.
Despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations, Saudi authorities accepted the aircraft, provided medical assistance and began dealing with the suspected attacker.
Israel has a long history of aviation security concerns
Israel’s response also reflects its historical experience with attacks against civilian aviation.
Israeli passengers and aircraft were repeatedly targeted by Palestinian militant organisations during the 1960s and 1970s.
Those incidents contributed to the development of some of the world’s most extensive aviation security procedures for Israel bound flights.
Israel has not experienced a successful aircraft hijacking in decades.
The possibility that a civilian aircraft carrying Israelis could have been deliberately crashed therefore triggered an immediate military and security response.
Investigation now focuses on events inside cockpit
Several important questions remain unanswered.
Authorities have not publicly established what triggered the confrontation between the pilots or what motive may have been involved.
It also remains unclear precisely how control of the aircraft changed during the incident and which crew members subsequently flew the plane to Tabuk.
The allegation that one pilot apparently attempted to crash the aircraft comes from Netanyahu’s account and remains part of an ongoing investigation.
Saudi authorities will also need to establish the circumstances surrounding the stabbing and determine what criminal proceedings may follow.
The aircraft’s flight data and cockpit recordings are likely to be central to reconstructing what happened during the sudden descent.
A potential catastrophe avoided
Whatever investigators ultimately determine about the motive, the available accounts describe an extraordinary emergency aboard an aircraft carrying dozens of passengers.
The plane lost approximately 16,000 feet of altitude in a remarkably short period. Both pilots were injured. Passengers and crew became directly involved in the emergency, and Israeli fighter aircraft were mobilised amid fears of a hijacking.
Yet the aircraft reached Tabuk safely.
Netanyahu credited the passengers and crew who intervened with preventing a disaster.
For investigators in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, the immediate task will now be to reconstruct the events inside the cockpit and determine why a routine Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv became one of the most extraordinary aviation emergencies in the region in recent years.