Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv diverted to Saudi Arabia after cockpit stabbing

Flydubai flight FZ1073, which left Dubai for Tel Aviv, was diverted to Saudi Arabia after one pilot stabbed the other in the cockpit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker had apparently tried to bring the plane down.

The Boeing 737 MAX took off from Dubai at 03:05 GMT (07:05 local time) with more than 170 people on board. Netanyahu said almost all passengers were Israeli.

The attacker is an Omani national. He was arrested after the emergency landing and is being questioned by Saudi authorities. Netanyahu expects him to be taken back to the UAE afterwards.

The stabbed pilot, Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, was hailed as a hero by Netanyahu. Netanyahu said Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to overpower the attacker as the aircraft descended sharply. According to the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia, he is in stable condition in hospital in Tabuk.

Initial Israeli media reports cited officials as saying two pilots had fought. On Wednesday afternoon, Netanyahu confirmed that one pilot had stabbed the other.

Flightradar24 data shows a rapid descent over Saudi Arabia about two and a half hours after take-off. The aircraft dropped more than 17,000 feet (5,180 meters) in under two minutes, around 05:21. Shortly afterwards it sent general emergency code 7700, then code 7500, which signals unlawful interference, or hijacking.

At 05:40 the plane briefly entered Jordanian airspace, then looped back into Saudi Arabia, where it began a manual descent. At 06:58 it landed at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. An on-duty Flydubai crew travelling on the flight then reached the cockpit and stabilized the plane before it landed.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement that the alarm was first raised by Tali Manes, an Israeli passenger who heard a commotion from the cockpit and alerted her fellow passengers. Her husband, Zvika Manes, and three other men, Yaniv Hayun, Dr Shota Musayev and Asaf Rajuan, rushed into the cockpit. Hayun steadied the controls while the others overpowered the attacker. Once the attacker was subdued, Musayev gave life-saving treatment to the seriously wounded pilot.

Investigation under way

Netanyahu said Israel had no warning or advance intelligence about the incident. He said a large amount of information had been coming in that Iran's proxies, particularly Hezbollah and Hamas, were planning attacks against Israel and Israeli civilians abroad. Asked whether Iran was involved, he said it was too early to say.

Netanyahu also said that after being subdued, the attacker called out to the crew to kill him. He added that the man had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination. Investigators are looking into the attacker's motives, including whether he was connected to a state actor or an armed group.

The UAE foreign ministry said public prosecutors had been ordered to examine all circumstances and motives of the incident, including any possible link to terrorist activity and whether it involved prior planning. Flydubai said the underlying reasons remained unknown and warned against premature speculation. It has suspended flights to and from Israel while the investigation continues.

Israeli authorities are also increasing security checks on pilots flying to the country. The incident adds to security fears in Israel ahead of the third anniversary of the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023, which triggered the Gaza war, and a general election later this month.