A co-pilot has been arrested in Saudi Arabia after stabbing the captain of a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight and attempting to crash the plane with 174 people on board, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.
The incident occurred on flydubai flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX operating from Dubai International (DXB) to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) on the morning of September 30.
According to Netanyahu, the first officer attacked the captain as the plane was approaching Israel.
“During the flight, as they were approaching the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and, apparently, tried to crash the plane with its passengers on board,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “The pilot who carried out the stabbing was arrested and is currently being questioned by the Saudi authorities.”
Plunge and emergency landing
Flight tracking data showed the aircraft in a sudden dive — dropping from about 33,000 feet to around 15,400 feet in less than two minutes — before making an erratic turn near the Jordanian border.
A passenger quoted by Netanyahu said the plane “went into a spin and began to descend,” prompting screams in the cabin.
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the disaster was averted by passengers and off-duty crew.
A passenger and a crew member broke into the cockpit and overpowered the attacker, who was allegedly trying to sabotage the aircraft’s systems. Two off-duty relief pilots who were on board as passengers — one of them British, according to a passenger who spoke to the BBC — then entered the cockpit and stabilized the aircraft.
The plane was diverted to Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely at about 09:45 local time. Airport authorities said both the captain and first officer were injured and taken to hospital. All passengers are safe.
Flydubai confirmed an “altercation occurred in the flight deck” and said it has deployed two replacement aircraft to bring passengers to Tel Aviv.
Israel calls it attempted terror attack
Israeli officials are treating the incident as a terror attack, not a mental health episode.
“The grave incident on the flydubai plane was a jihadist terrorist attack attempt, which was thwarted only thanks to the bravery of several Israeli passengers,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said. “According to the initial information in our possession, the terrorist had one intention: to crash the plane with all its passengers.”
Two Israeli officials speaking anonymously to Reuters said the current assessment is that it was an attempted “terror attack.” One official told Channel 12 the pilot “tried to do a 9/11.”
The suspect has not been officially named, but multiple Israeli and regional outlets, citing sources, reported he is of Omani descent and had worked for flydubai for less than a year. The pilot and co-pilot roster has not been released.
Flydubai urged caution, saying: “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.”
The flight was carrying almost all Israeli passengers, including 27 children, Netanyahu said.
Katz credited the passengers for saving lives, and Netanyahu praised them as heroes: “They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster.”
Netanyahu said he has ordered security to be ramped up on Israeli and non-Israeli carriers and that Israel is maintaining continuous contact with Saudi authorities — with which it has no formal diplomatic relations — to secure the passengers’ return.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the attacker “planned to crash a plane and murder the 180 Israelis on it.”
The incident comes days before the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attacks and amid heightened security alerts ahead of Israel’s October 27 election.
