A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday after a violent struggle broke out in the cockpit. According to Israeli officials, the co-pilot stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the aircraft before passengers and crew intervened to subdue him and bring the plane under control. Flydubai has described the event more cautiously, calling it an “altercation” and warning against “premature speculation” about its cause.
How the Incident Unfolded
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot stabbed the captain, identified as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, during flight FZ1073. Despite his injuries, Netanyahu’s office said Machchhar was able to reach the cockpit door release, and passengers and off-duty flydubai pilots traveling on the flight forced their way in, overpowered the co-pilot, and helped stabilize the aircraft.
Reports differ on the exact scale of the resulting dive: some accounts, citing flight tracking data, describe the plane losing 17,400 feet in under two minutes, while others describe a drop of nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. Both figures describe a severe, rapid descent, though the precise numbers vary by source.
A spokesperson for Netanyahu told Reuters that Machchhar was covered in blood on the cockpit floor when he managed to release the door, and that passengers who entered found the co-pilot striking the plane’s control panel.
The aircraft, carrying 174 people including 27 children and a large number of Israeli nationals, landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Both pilots were hospitalized; Machchhar sustained serious injuries, while Israel’s ambulance service said a 51-year-old man was treated for upper-body injuries and described as in “mild condition.” No passengers were reported seriously hurt.
This video of the flight from Dubai plunging as the co-pilot appears to have tried to crash it is chilling. There were 174 passengers headed to Tel Aviv including 27 children. You can hear the kids scream. Thank goodness for the heroes on board. pic.twitter.com/iRdmgmmsxr
— Heidi Bachram (@HeidiBachram) September 30, 2026
Passengers Describe the Struggle
Passengers who helped restrain the co-pilot described the moment in visceral terms. “This is something you do without thinking, just running to save your daughter’s life, your family’s life,” said Asaf Rajuan, one of the passengers involved, speaking with his forehead still bloodied.
Netanyahu later met one of the passengers involved, Yaniv Hayun, at Ben Gurion Airport, embracing him and telling him, “I see you and I see a lion — a big hero,” according to video released by the prime minister’s office. Hayun was still wearing his blood-stained shirt from the flight.
Passenger Lital Shachaf described the ordeal after safely reaching Israel: “I just can say that it was a miracle. It was awful, crazy, and we thank God that we survived it, we didn’t think we will make it but thank God we are in Israel. We are back home. And we are happy to see everyone here.”
What Happened After the Diversion
More than ten hours after the incident, passengers reached Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport aboard a replacement flydubai aircraft. The co-pilot remains in custody in Saudi Arabia, where Netanyahu said authorities would interrogate him. His motive remains under investigation.
There has been conflicting reporting on the co-pilot’s nationality: an Israeli official identified him as an Omani national, though some Israeli media outlets initially reported the pilots involved were Omani and Emirati, while others reported them as Russian and Ukrainian. Oman had not issued a public comment as of this writing, and the UAE government had also not commented directly on the incident.
Flydubai confirmed the flight experienced an “incident” en route and said all passengers were safe, while the UAE’s aviation regulator, the GCAA, described it as “a security incident that was brought under control.” Investigations are ongoing involving authorities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.
Political and Security Context
The incident has heightened aviation security concerns in the region and comes weeks before Israelis vote in their first election since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, with security featuring prominently in campaign debate. Far-right Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to the incident on social media, writing, “Terrorism is a devil with whom no agreement must be reached” — a characterization that reflects his own political framing rather than a conclusion reached by investigators, whose formal findings on motive have not yet been released.
In response, Israeli officials said they intend to tighten security checks on pilots flying into the country. “Every pilot that is going to be flying into Israel, we are going to know the pilots’ identities, know who they are, and do some type of security check,” said Netanyahu spokesperson Doron Spielman.
The incident also comes against the backdrop of deepening Israel-UAE ties since the countries normalized relations under the 2020 Abraham Accords. Netanyahu met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan just days earlier during a rare visit to the Gulf, and Israel has provided the UAE with Iron Dome air-defense systems and personnel this year to help defend against Iranian attacks.
It’s not the first time a flydubai flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv has diverted to Saudi Arabia — a flight made an emergency landing in Riyadh in September 2025 due to a medical incident, according to Israeli media at the time.
What Remains Unclear
Several key facts remain unconfirmed or disputed: the co-pilot’s exact nationality, the precise cause and motive behind his actions, and the exact rate of the aircraft’s descent. Flydubai has explicitly cautioned against drawing conclusions before investigators — who are working across multiple countries — complete their review.
