Passengers and crew members aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv have been credited with preventing a potential aviation disaster after they overpowered a co-pilot who allegedly attacked the captain and attempted to take control of the aircraft.
The dramatic incident occurred on Wednesday aboard flight FZ1073, which was carrying 174 people, most of them Israeli nationals. According to Israeli officials, the confrontation began after the co-pilot stabbed the pilot, causing the aircraft to plunge nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.
The crisis was eventually brought under control after passengers and members of the cabin crew entered the cockpit and restrained the co-pilot. Two additional flydubai pilots who were travelling as passengers reportedly assisted in taking control of the aircraft and landing it safely at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
More than 10 hours after the incident, the passengers arrived safely at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport aboard a replacement flydubai aircraft. Several passengers described their survival as miraculous, while others recounted the terrifying struggle that unfolded thousands of feet above the ground.
One of the passengers, Lital Shachaf, said she was grateful to have survived what she described as an extremely frightening experience.
“I just can say that it was a miracle. It was awful, crazy, and we thank God that we survived it,” she said. “We didn’t think we would make it, but thank God we are in Israel. We are back home.”
Passengers Rush to Save Pilot and Prevent Disaster
Details emerging after the incident suggested that the passengers acted quickly when they realised something was seriously wrong inside the cockpit.
Israeli officials said the wounded captain, identified by the Israeli prime minister’s office as Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, was able to activate the mechanism that opened the cockpit door despite being injured.
A Netanyahu spokesperson said the captain was lying on the cockpit floor covered in blood when he managed to release the door. Passengers who entered the cockpit allegedly found the co-pilot striking the aircraft’s control panel.
Among those who helped restrain the co-pilot was passenger Asaf Rajuan, who was still visibly injured after the struggle.
“This is something you do without thinking, just running to save your daughter’s life, your family’s life,” Rajuan said, displaying a bloodied forehead.
Another passenger, Yaniv Hayun, was also praised for his role in entering the cockpit. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released video showing Netanyahu meeting Hayun at Ben Gurion Airport and embracing him.
“I see you and I see a lion, a big hero,” Netanyahu told Hayun, who was still wearing the blood-stained shirt he had worn during the incident.
The actions of the passengers drew praise from Israeli officials, who said their intervention helped avert what could have been a major aviation catastrophe.
Motive Remains Under Investigation
Despite the dramatic circumstances, authorities had not established the motive behind the co-pilot’s alleged actions.
Israeli officials described the incident as a serious security event and said Saudi authorities would question the suspect following the aircraft’s emergency diversion.
Netanyahu said the co-pilot would be interrogated by Saudi authorities. An Israeli official identified the co-pilot as an Omani national, although there were conflicting reports in Israeli media concerning the nationalities of the pilots involved.
Flydubai urged caution, saying the underlying reasons for the incident remained unknown and warning against premature speculation.
The airline confirmed that an altercation had occurred inside the cockpit and that the aircraft was subsequently diverted to Tabuk, where it landed safely.
The United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority also confirmed that the flight had experienced a security incident that was brought under control.
Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk airport said both pilots had been hospitalised after sustaining injuries.
Israel’s ambulance service separately reported that a 51-year-old man was taken to an Israeli hospital for treatment of upper-body injuries. He was said to be in mild condition.
Security Measures to Be Tightened
The incident has raised fresh questions about aviation security, particularly concerning the screening of pilots operating flights into Israel.
Israeli media published conflicting accounts of the circumstances, with some reports suggesting that the co-pilot may have attempted to deliberately crash the aircraft. Other reports initially provided differing information about the nationalities of the pilots.
Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Netanyahu, said Israel would introduce tighter checks on pilots flying into the country.
“Every pilot that is going to be flying into Israel, we are going to know the pilots’ identities, know who they are, and do some type of security check,” he said.
The announcement comes amid heightened security concerns in Israel following years of regional conflict and particularly after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks.
Security has remained a major issue in Israel’s political discourse, with the country preparing for its first election since the October 7 attacks.
Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to the incident on social media by linking it to terrorism and arguing against agreements with what he described as terrorist elements. His comments were political in nature and came before authorities had publicly established a motive for the co-pilot’s actions.
Trump Discusses Incident With Netanyahu
US President Donald Trump said he spoke at length with Netanyahu about the incident.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump provided his understanding of what had happened, while stressing that the account he received from Netanyahu had not been independently verified by him.
The incident has attracted considerable international attention because the flight was travelling between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, two countries whose diplomatic and security relations have expanded significantly since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020.
Flydubai operates daily return services between Dubai and Tel Aviv, making the route an important connection for Israeli travellers.
The normal flight path takes aircraft through airspace over Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The diversion to Tabuk therefore occurred within the broader regional airspace network normally used by flights between the two countries.
It was not the first time a flight travelling between Israel and the UAE had landed in Saudi Arabia. In September 2025, another flydubai flight travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv reportedly made an emergency landing in Riyadh following a medical incident.
Stronger Security Cooperation
The incident comes at a time when Israel and the UAE have developed increasingly close economic, military and security relations since normalising diplomatic ties.
Netanyahu recently met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a visit to the Gulf country. The two countries have expanded cooperation in several areas despite the wider regional conflict.
Israel has also provided the UAE with Iron Dome air-defence systems and personnel to help protect against Iranian attacks following military escalation involving Israel, Iran and the United States.
The UAE government had not issued a detailed public response to the flydubai incident at the time of reporting.
For the passengers aboard FZ1073, however, the diplomatic and security implications were secondary to the immediate relief of reaching the ground alive.
What began as a routine flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv turned into a desperate struggle inside an aircraft cockpit. The intervention of passengers and crew, together with the presence of additional trained pilots aboard the aircraft, ultimately allowed the plane to land safely in Saudi Arabia.
The full circumstances surrounding the co-pilot’s actions, including his motive and the sequence of events that led to the cockpit confrontation, remain subject to investigation. Authorities are expected to examine the aircraft, interview passengers and crew, and question the injured pilots as part of efforts to establish exactly what happened.
