Passengers and crew entered the cockpit and overpowered a co-pilot after he stabbed the pilot and sent a FlyDubai aircraft plunging nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds, Israeli officials said. The flight landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after two other FlyDubai pilots aboard took control. Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel may join the investigation.
Passengers Took Control
Flight FZ1073 was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the incident occurred. Passengers and crew reached the cockpit and subdued the co-pilot, according to Israeli officials. A second pair of FlyDubai pilots aboard the aircraft then landed it safely in Tabuk. Passengers later reached Israel safely after the flight diverted to Saudi Arabia.
That account describes people aboard the plane intervening in an emergency, but it doesn't say how they organized their response or what any individual passenger said. Netanyahu said Saudi Arabia was investigating the co-pilot. Passengers, meanwhile, couldn't decide where the investigation would take place or which governments might participate.
Netanyahu told Fox News host Sean Hannity on the network’s “Hannity” program that Israel would seek to establish what happened. “We’ll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it. I think we’ll find out very soon,” he said.
Investigation, With Motive Unknown
Asked whether there was any indication of Iranian involvement, Netanyahu replied: “It’s too early to say, the attacking pilot is ... now being investigated in Saudi Arabia.” He said he thought the co-pilot would be taken to the Emirates, “where he comes from, or at least where he left, where he flew off from,” and added that Israel would be “following and possibly also participating in this investigation.”
Israeli officials said investigators were still examining the attacker’s motive. Netanyahu raised the possibility of accomplices and Iranian involvement, but the report offered no evidence establishing either. FlyDubai also said the underlying reasons for the event remained unknown and warned against “premature speculation.” The distinction is clear: an investigation is underway, while the account hasn't established a motive or any wider involvement.
Flights Suspended
FlyDubai suspended flights to Israel after the attempted hijacking, AL-Monitor reported in its Oct. 1, 2026, newsletter. The airline’s decision affects a route that carried about 2.55 million passengers to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport through August 2026, according to the Israel Airports Authority.
Those figures show the scale of the connection, not the reason for the airline’s decision beyond its timing after the incident. The report doesn't say when flights might resume, whether the suspension has an end date, or what arrangements passengers will receive. It also doesn't identify any horizontal organizing or mutual aid connected to the flight; the immediate action described is passengers and crew entering the cockpit and overpowering the co-pilot.
Netanyahu’s comments put a possible Israeli role in an investigation conducted in Saudi Arabia on the table, while the airline urged restraint about conclusions. The report provides no confirmed motive. It credits Beatrice Farhat and Rosaleen Carroll for contributing to AL-Monitor’s newsletter. Reuters reported from Washington, with reporting by Kanishka Singh and editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christopher Cushing.