Flydubai flight diverts to Saudi Arabia after cockpit stabbing

Passengers and off-duty crew subdued an armed pilot after a rapid descent over northwestern airspace.

A commercial flight carrying more than 150 passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted to northwestern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a co-pilot stabbed the flight captain and attempted to force the aircraft into a dive.¹²

Flydubai flight FZ1073 departed Dubai International Airport at 07:05 local time for Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel.¹² Roughly two and a half hours into the trip, the aircraft plunged more than 17,000 feet in less than two minutes while crossing Saudi airspace.¹² Flight tracking signals transmitted an emergency squawk code of 7700 before changing to 7500, the international transponder code indicating an unlawful interference or hijacking attempt aboard the aircraft.¹²

The aircraft briefly crossed into Jordanian airspace before circling back over Saudi territory, where relief pilots and passengers managed to stabilize the descent and land at Tabuk Airport at 06:58 GMT.¹² The wounded captain, identified as Indian national Smit Machchhar, survived the attack and was transported to a local medical facility in stable condition.¹²

Mid-air struggle inside the flight deck

The disturbance began when the co-pilot attacked Machchhar with a knife inside the flight deck, attempting to disable the controls and lock the armored cockpit entrance.²¹ Despite sustaining severe stab wounds, Machchhar reached the door latch to release the lock, allowing travelers and off-duty airline personnel in the cabin to force their way inside.²¹

Passenger Yaniv Hayoun said in a public address that travelers heard shouting and felt immediate atmospheric pressure as the jet nosed downward.²¹ Hayoun entered the cockpit, placed the assailant in a chokehold, and pulled him away from the instrument panel out into the aisle.²¹ Other travelers then assisted in pinning the attacker to the floor, securing his limbs with zip ties and multimedia headphone cables.¹

With the primary crew incapacitated during the scuffle, an off-duty British relief pilot and a European first officer traveling as passengers entered the cockpit to take command of the aircraft.²¹ Hayoun briefly pulled the control column to help arrest the dive before the relief flight crew took over the manual controls, leveled the wings, and directed the aircraft toward the nearest available airfield.¹²³

Emergency landing and security response

Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk received the diverted Boeing aircraft without further injuries among the passengers.²¹ Saudi authorities immediately took the accused co-pilot into custody on the tarmac, where investigators began interrogating him regarding the motive behind the assault.¹²

The incident triggered an immediate military and diplomatic alert across three capitals.¹² Israeli and Saudi air forces scrambled fighter jets as the transponder broadcast the hijacking alert over the northern border corridor.¹² The emergency diversion required direct coordination between Israeli and Gulf authorities, marking a rare moment of public cooperation despite regional political strains.²

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the crew and passengers for averting a disaster, crediting Machchhar with saving the lives of 174 people on board.¹² Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a statement commending Machchhar for his courage under attack.¹

Diplomatic fallout and suspended operations

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the assault as an attempted terrorist attack targeting Israeli citizens, noting that transport and defense authorities opened an inquiry into the security breach.¹²³ Flydubai confirmed that an altercation had taken place on the flight deck and announced a temporary suspension of scheduled passenger flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv while joint investigations continued.¹²

The airline dispatched two relief aircraft to Tabuk to retrieve the stranded travelers and crew members.¹ The repatriation flight departed Saudi Arabia later on Wednesday afternoon and touched down at Ben-Gurion Airport roughly eight hours after the emergency landing.¹²

What this rests on

24 sentences trace to 3 sources.

All 3Documents 1Records 0Reporting 2People 0

1. 1 BN BBC News Third-party reporting · bbc.com · 30 Sep 2026 What we know about stabbing on Flydubai flight to Israel See the source
2. 2 TG The Guardian Third-party reporting · theguardian.com · 30 Sep 2026 Pilot who stabbed co-pilot on Israel-bound plane may have tried to crash it, says Netanyahu See the source
3. 3 BR Brendan Ruberry Document · semafor.com · 30 Sep 2026 Israel probes if FlyDubai pilot stabbing was attempted terror attack See the source