A Flydubai aircraft traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Israel, was forced to land in Saudi Arabia after an “incident,” the airline said.
Flight FZ 1073 “experienced an incident while en route. The aircraft has landed safely in Tabuk Airport, and all passengers are safe and accounted for,” Flydubai’s spokesperson said in a statement.
In the latest update, Israeli leaders said that a “jihadist” pilot tried to crash a flydubai plane with mostly Israeli passengers, who overpowered him and prevented a “major disaster”.
“During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and tried to crash the plane with everyone on board,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message.
He said he spoke to an Israeli passenger who broke into the cockpit as the plane started to plummet and fought the pilot who was trying to bring down the aircraft.
“Another air crew member who was on the plane entered the cockpit and managed to stabilize the aircraft,” Netanyahu said.
“I salute these heroes, who showed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage. They saved many lives; they prevented a major disaster.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as “an attempted jihadist terror attack” that was “thwarted only thanks to the heroism of several Israeli passengers”.
Katz did not identify his source for assigning a motive to the pilot, whose identity has not been revealed.
Netanyahu said the pilot who allegedly stabbed his colleague “has been arrested and is currently being interrogated by the Saudi authorities”.
“I have instructed the security services to prepare for additional potential threats. We are conducting ongoing situation assessments,” Netanyahu said.
Earlier, Israel’s Kan public broadcaster and Channel 12 reported that the Israeli military had scrambled fighter jets after fears of a possible hijacking. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the premier had held consultations on the matter and was “monitoring developments”.
“The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel,” a statement said.
Israeli media reported that the passengers on board had stepped in to separate the pilots during their altercation, publishing photos of a passenger with a bloodied T-shirt.
Channel 12 reported that authorities were investigating whether or not one of the pilots had attempted a possible suicide by trying to crash the plane, with the other pilot apparently intervening to prevent the crash.
Other reports said that passengers reported cockpit screams, blood, and that one pilot stabbed the other with a knife.
Crew and passengers forced the door and subdued the attacker. Off-duty pilots helped land it safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Israeli officials treat it as a terror attack: the co-pilot (reports say Omani) repeatedly stabbed the captain, possibly intending to crash the plane. The suspect is under interrogation.
נוסעת בטיסת פליי דובאי: ״הישראלים ניטרלו את דוקר הטייס, צעקתי שמע ישראל כי חשבתי שלא נצא מפה״ pic.twitter.com/uNemz9Um6R
— זמן אמת (@zmanemet308) September 30, 2026
One passenger, Miriam, reportedly on board the aircraft, describes hearing screams and seeing blood in the cockpit after a pilot was stabbed. She says Israelis and crew neutralized the attacker; a doctor and nurse treated the pilot; she shouted Shema Yisrael, fearing they wouldn’t survive; and the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
According to data from the Flightradar website, the aircraft suddenly lost altitude during the flight, dropping from nearly 34,000 feet at 05:21 GMT to less than 17,000 feet at 05:22 GMT.
The incident comes just days after the Emirati president hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
Abu Dhabi acknowledged for the first time that Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s office also confirmed the trip, saying the visit “focused on strengthening relations between the two countries and on regional challenges” amid delicate US-backed diplomacy over the war with Iran.
- Via: Agence France-Presse
- This is a developing story…
