Kathmandu, October 1: A plane traveling from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Israel was diverted and made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The aircraft was redirected toward Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after it sent an emergency signal.
According to Reuters, Flydubai flight FZ1073, which was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv through Jordanian airspace, was diverted from its route. Israel immediately deployed fighter jets following the incident.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that one pilot had stabbed another pilot and attempted to crash the aircraft. He said Israel was also prepared for other possible threats following the incident.
There were earlier reports that an attempt had been made to hijack the aircraft, but this has not yet been officially confirmed.
Flydubai said there had been a dispute in the cockpit and confirmed that all passengers were safe. The airline added that off-duty crew members on board intervened and secured the aircraft.
The plane landed at an airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. According to Saudi officials, the captain and first officer, who were injured, were taken to hospital. Saudi state television quoted a statement from Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk as confirming the information.
Since relations between the UAE and Israel were normalized in 2020, the UAE has become a popular destination for Israeli tourists. The information available so far about the incident is as follows:
A video filmed inside the aircraft shows the captain lying on the cabin floor with multiple stab wounds to his body. A passenger is also seen with a deep injury and blood on his head.
In another video, passengers can be heard crying and screaming in panic as the aircraft shook.
Yasmin Abukasis, the mother of passenger Miriam, said her daughter thought they were going to die. She spoke to reporters at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport about what happened before another pilot took control of the aircraft. “The plane was beginning to lose control,” she said.
Flight-tracking data shows that about two and a half hours after departing Dubai, the aircraft descended 14,000 feet (4,300 metres) in less than 30 seconds. FlightRadar24 said on X that an initial general emergency signal, code 7700, was transmitted at around 05:31 GMT. It was later changed to code 7500, indicating “unlawful interference.”
Passenger Dalia Spiegel told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that as the aircraft began descending, several people seated toward the front entered the cockpit after realizing that something was wrong.
“We felt that the plane was not under control an hour before landing,” she said.
She added, “The plane began jumping. When we saw it starting to descend, young people broke down the cockpit door and entered.”
Netanyahu said he later spoke with one of the Israeli passengers who entered the cockpit. According to him, the passenger restrained a pilot who was attempting to interfere with the aircraft’s systems.
In a statement, Netanyahu said, “I salute these heroes. They demonstrated extraordinary presence of mind and courage. They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster.”
The motive for the attack is not immediately known. Netanyahu said Saudi authorities were questioning the pilot accused of carrying out the attack.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said preliminary information indicated that the attacker co-pilot’s objective was to crash the plane and kill all the passengers. He described the incident as an “attempted jihadist terrorist attack.”
An Israeli official speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity claimed that the attacker was an Omani national.
Israel does not have formal diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia or Oman. However, Israel has maintained a policy of occasional informal communication with both countries.
Oman, whose capital is Muscat, has supported Palestinian rights and decided not to join the regional campaign to normalize relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has conditioned normalization of relations on Israel recognizing an independent Palestinian state.
The anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, is approaching. About 1,200 people were killed in that attack. Since then, Israel’s devastating war in Gaza has killed more than 75,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Since a US-mediated “ceasefire” took effect in October 2025 alone, around 1,400 people have reportedly been killed.
According to The Times of Israel, Hebrew-language media outlets incorrectly reported that another Flydubai flight, FZ1081, traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, had also turned back midway through its journey.
The report clarified that the error appeared to have resulted from a technical problem with flight-tracking websites.
The aircraft did not send any emergency signal and was reportedly continuing to Tel Aviv without interruption.
Citing the Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson, Reuters reported that Netanyahu had instructed officials to “tighten security” on Israeli and non-Israeli aircraft.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid alleged that Netanyahu’s political allies were trying to portray the incident as a warning ahead of the election. Israel had previously been warned of a possible attack ahead of the parliamentary election scheduled for October 27. Lapid said they were trying to make it appear that the warning had proved accurate.
Lapid wrote on X, “The warning regarding activities abroad is specific in nature. Such a warning has been in place for more than two years. But it has nothing to do with this aircraft or any incident like the one that occurred this morning.”
Referring to Netanyahu, Lapid said, “He is trying to gain cheap popularity by riding on the backs of those heroic Israelis who prevented a major disaster—one that Netanyahu was (once again) unprepared for.”
Sources confirmed that Samit Machchar, an Indian national working with the Flydubay, was commanding the aircraft. According to sources, around 2 hours after takeoff, a Muslim co-pilot told Smit he is going to rest a little. He went back and started stabbing Smit with a pocket knife; Smit started bleeding and the plane dropped 14,000 feet in a minute. Smit had a button to open the cockpit door beside his seat. He somehow pressed it. Passengers saw blood coming from the cockpit. The Muslim pilot started celebrating and shouting “Allah hu Akbar.” He thought nobody could save all of them now. Passengers rushed to save the pilot and some of them attacked the other pilot. A few of them were relief pilots who landed the plane safely. One of them was a doctor who saved Smit from excessive bleeding. Smit controlled the aircraft and landed safely saving lift of all 180 passengers.
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