Passengers and crew subdued a FlyDubai co-pilot who stabbed the pilot, sending an Israel-bound aircraft plunging nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds, Israeli officials said. They stopped the co-pilot, and the flight landed safely in Saudi Arabia after authorities diverted it.
The Cockpit Attack
Flight FZ1073 was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the incident occurred. Israeli officials said investigators were still examining the co-pilot’s motive. Passengers and crew entered the cockpit and overpowered him, allowing a second pair of FlyDubai pilots aboard to land the aircraft safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Passengers reached Israel safely after the diversion, according to the report. The aircraft was headed to Tel Aviv when the co-pilot attacked the pilot and sent it into a rapid descent. It dropped nearly 14,000 feet, or 4,267 metres, in less than 30 seconds.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would seek to establish why the co-pilot tried to crash the flight and might take part in the investigation. Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity on the network’s “Hannity” program, Netanyahu said: “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.”
Netanyahu’s comments raised the possibility of Iranian involvement but didn’t establish it. Asked whether there was any indication that Iran was involved, he said: “It’s too early to say, the attacking pilot is ... now being investigated in Saudi Arabia.” Israeli officials said the co-pilot’s motive and any possible accomplices remained under investigation.
Investigation and Iran Question
Netanyahu said Saudi Arabia was investigating the co-pilot. He thought the man would be taken to the Emirates, “where he comes from, or at least where he left, where he flew off from,” and said Israel would follow the inquiry and might participate.
The account didn’t establish that Iran directed or supported the attack. Netanyahu described Iranian involvement as a question investigators would examine, while stressing that it was too early to say whether there was any connection. No information identified any accomplices, if there were any.
FlyDubai said the underlying reasons for the event remained unknown and warned against “premature speculation.” The airline’s statement gave no motive for the co-pilot’s actions. Israeli officials also said investigators hadn’t determined his motive.
Flights to Israel Suspended
FlyDubai suspended flights to Israel after the attempted hijacking, AL-Monitor reported in its Oct. 1, 2026, newsletter. According to the Israel Airports Authority, as cited by the newsletter, the airline had carried about 2.55 million passengers to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport through August 2026.
The report gave no further details about the suspension or when flights might resume. It noted the scale of FlyDubai’s passenger traffic to and from Ben Gurion Airport before the suspension. AL-Monitor credited Beatrice Farhat and Rosaleen Carroll for contributing to the newsletter report.
Reuters reported from Washington, with reporting by Kanishka Singh and editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christopher Cushing. The report left the attack, the co-pilot’s motive and any possible Iranian connection unresolved.