Flydubai Flight Diverted After Pilot Stabbing, Alleged Crash Attempt

A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after an emergency was declared on board, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleging that one pilot stabbed another and attempted to crash the aircraft.

The flight, FZ1073, departed from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates early on Wednesday, September 30, en route to Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel, according to the BBC. It was carrying at least 150 people, with Netanyahu stating that "almost all" passengers were Israeli.

A pilot was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities, Netanyahu said. Al Jazeera reported that an Israeli official identified the arrested individual as the co-pilot and an Omani national, though this nationality has not been independently verified.

The stabbed pilot, identified as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, was taken to hospital after the flight landed, the BBC reported. He was later called a "hero" by the Israeli prime minister and is in stable condition, according to the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Incident Unfolds

Flydubai flight FZ1073 departed Dubai at 03:05 GMT on Wednesday, climbing to 34,000 feet (more than 10,000 metres), Al Jazeera reported, citing Flightradar24 data. Approximately two and a half hours after take-off, at around 05:21 GMT, Flightradar24 data showed the aircraft beginning a deep descent, dropping more than 17,000 feet (over 5,000 metres) in less than two minutes, according to the BBC.

The aircraft then showed a sharp climb followed by a second steep descent, flying at roughly 15,000 feet (4,572 metres) by about 05:33 GMT, Al Jazeera reported. At 05:28 GMT, while flying near the border between Saudi Arabia and Jordan, the aircraft began transmitting the emergency transponder code 7700, the internationally agreed-upon code for a general emergency.

Minutes later, at 05:35 GMT, the transponder code changed to 7500, signalling unlawful interference, according to Al Jazeera. The aircraft then turned west, briefly entered Jordanian airspace, and turned back towards Saudi Arabia. At 05:40 GMT, the plane looped back into Saudi Arabia, the BBC reported.

Air traffic controllers in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, received a distress call from FZ1073 at 05:44 GMT, requesting an emergency landing. As the aircraft approached Tabuk, its transponder switched back to 7700, indicating a general emergency, Al Jazeera stated.

The plane landed safely at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk at 06:45 GMT, according to local media cited by Al Jazeera, or 06:58 GMT, according to location data from the BBC and Flightradar24's final tracking signal cited by Al Jazeera.

Cockpit Intervention and Heroism

Initial local media reports cited Israeli officials as saying a fight had broken out between two pilots, the BBC reported. Netanyahu later confirmed that one pilot had stabbed the other before "apparently trying to crash" the plane.

Netanyahu said that passengers and a crew member entered the cockpit and restrained the co-pilot, according to Al Jazeera. The BBC reported that an Israeli passenger told Netanyahu that the plane went into a spin and began to descend before the passenger and a crew member broke into the cockpit and overpowered the "pilot who had carried out the stabbing."

Passenger Yaniv Hayun, who was later greeted as a hero by Netanyahu, said in a video released by the prime minister's office that he and others were trying to open the cockpit door, but the stabbed pilot was very close to it. Before collapsing, the injured pilot managed to open the door, Hayun said, according to the BBC.

Hayun described the attacker inside the cockpit as "trying to destroy the instruments in order to disable the plane." He then put the attacker in a chokehold and pulled him outside of the cockpit before other passengers helped to pin him down. Hayun also stated that he "pulled the controls" of the plane, explaining to Netanyahu that he watches the Canadian documentary series Air Crash Investigation. "The plane started to level out, a bit more, and then [another] pilot told me he was taking control from there," Hayun said, according to the BBC.

Another passenger, Zvika Meness, told Israeli public broadcaster Kan News that he and other passengers tied the attacker up "with his own zip ties and with the multimedia headphones," the BBC reported. Yasmin Abukasis, whose daughter was on the flight, told Reuters that her daughter said a man holding a knife had forced one of the pilots onto the floor, with blood everywhere. "The plane start to lose control. So all the people, they scream, they think they are going," Abukasis told AP news agency, according to the BBC.

Abukasis added that her daughter heard screaming as a pilot called for help, and two other pilots took control of the plane as other passengers ran towards a man who had a knife. Almog Itali, another passenger, told media that one of the pilots who landed the aircraft was British, while the other was European, the BBC stated.

Official Reactions and Investigations

Netanyahu called the situation a "very serious security incident" and hailed Captain Machchhar as a "true hero," stating that he "saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals," the BBC reported. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called the incident an "attempted jihadist terror attack," though the BBC noted it had not received official statements from police, emergency services, or investigators regarding any motive.

Flydubai stated that an "altercation occurred in the flight deck" and that the flight was "successfully secured by on-duty Flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk airport," the BBC reported. The airline added that the incident had no impact on other scheduled operations.

The emergency came a day after Netanyahu warned of possible attacks in the run-up to Israel’s October 27 election, Al Jazeera reported. On September 29, Netanyahu said Israel had indications that its "enemies" could try to carry out attacks before the election, without specifying the nature of the threat.

Later that night, opposition leader Yair Lapid received a security briefing from Netanyahu. After the meeting, Lapid said there was "no reason to put the public in a panic" and that security threats should be handled professionally rather than used in election messaging, Al Jazeera reported.

Following the Flydubai incident, Lapid rejected attempts to connect it to the security briefing he received from Netanyahu. "Nothing even resembling this morning’s plane incident appeared in the security briefing with the prime minister last night. Nothing similar, nothing reminiscent of it, not even a hint," Lapid said on X, according to Al Jazeera. He accused government-aligned voices of trying to use the incident for political purposes.

US President Donald Trump said he had spoken with Netanyahu following the incident, stating it seemed as though the attacker was "perhaps a terrorist" or there were other reasons behind the attack, the BBC reported.

Aftermath and Next Steps

Israel’s Ministry of Transport said there would be a joint investigation of the incident with the defence establishment, Al Jazeera reported. Netanyahu stated that Israeli security forces are "maintaining close contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety of the passengers." He added, "I salute these heroes who demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness and courage. They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster," according to the BBC.

Flydubai dispatched two replacement aircraft to Tabuk to relieve the passengers and crew. The repatriation flight carrying passengers left Tabuk at 17:40 local time (14:40 GMT) and arrived at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv at around 18:40 local time (15:40 GMT), the BBC reported. Al Jazeera also reported footage showing a Flydubai rescue flight arriving at Ben Gurion Airport at 15:34 GMT.

Flydubai stated its "immediate priority is to ensure the ongoing safety, health, and wellbeing of all passengers and crew members involved in this incident and support the official investigation," the BBC reported.