Pilot Stabbed Mid-Flight: How a Dubai-Tel Aviv Flydubai Journey Ended in a Hijack Alert and an Emergency Landing in Saudi Arabia

A routine early-morning departure from Dubai turned into a life-or-death ordeal on Wednesday when a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia after one pilot stabbed the other and apparently attempted to bring the aircraft down, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The flight, FZ1073, had left Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates at 03:05 GMT (07:05 local time) carrying at least 150 people, most of them Israeli citizens, and was headed for Ben-Gurion Airport. Instead of reaching its destination, the plane touched down at Tabuk Airport in north-western Saudi Arabia at 06:58, following a sequence of events that reads like a scenario from an aviation disaster documentary.

Netanyahu said the assailant was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities, while the wounded pilot was taken to hospital after landing. The Israeli prime minister later described that injured pilot, identified as Indian national Capt Smit Machchhar, as a "true hero," crediting him with saving the lives of 174 people on board, including Israeli citizens and other nationals. The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia said Machchhar was in a stable condition, offering a measure of reassurance amid the chaos.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz characterised the episode as an "attempted jihadist terror attack," a framing that raises the stakes of an already dramatic security incident. The BBC has not yet received official statements from police, emergency services, or investigators regarding any motive, leaving the question of why the attacker acted unanswered for now. The gap between Katz's assertion and the absence of confirmed investigative findings underscores how quickly such incidents become entangled in broader geopolitical narratives.

Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 reveals the moment the situation spiralled. Roughly two and a half hours after take-off, around 05:21, the aircraft entered a rapid descent over Saudi Arabia, dropping more than 17,000 feet (over 5,000 metres) in less than two minutes. Minutes later, the plane transmitted an emergency squawk code 7700, before switching to squawk 7500, the internationally recognised code for a hijacking. Such codes are used by pilots to silently alert air traffic controllers to emergencies without verbal communication, and the shift from a general emergency to a hijack signal would have immediately escalated the response on the ground.

The aircraft's path grew more erratic still. At 05:40, after briefly entering Jordanian airspace, the plane looped back into Saudi Arabia, where it later began a manual descent for landing. Less than an hour afterwards, it returned to squawk 7700, suggesting the immediate threat may have been brought under control before touchdown. Initial local media reports, citing Israeli officials, described a fight between the two pilots, but Netanyahu subsequently confirmed later accounts that one pilot had stabbed the other before apparently trying to crash the aircraft.

Passenger accounts paint a picture of terror quickly followed by improvised heroism. Yaniv Hayun, who was later greeted and praised by Netanyahu, said in a video released by the prime minister's office that he and others tried to open the cockpit door while the stabbed pilot was very close to it. Before collapsing, the injured man managed to open the door, Hayun said. Inside, the attacker was "trying to destroy the instruments in order to disable the plane," according to Hayun, who described putting the attacker in a chokehold and pulling him out of the cockpit before other passengers helped pin him down. Hayun added that he "pulled the controls" of the plane, explaining to Netanyahu that he had learned something from watching the Canadian documentary series Air Crash Investigation. "The plane started to level out, a bit more, and then [another] pilot told me he was taking control from there."

Other passengers recounted the raw panic and the improvised restraint of the attacker. Zvika Meness told Israeli public broadcaster Kan News that he and fellow passengers tied the attacker up "with his own zip ties and with the multimedia headphones," adding that children and families had endured "a very severe, highly traumatic event." Yasmin Abukasis told Reuters that her daughter, who was on the flight, said a man holding a knife had forced one of the pilots onto the floor, with blood everywhere. "The plane start to lose control. So all the people, they scream, they think they are going," Abukasis told the AP news agency, speaking from Ben Gurion Airport. Her daughter phoned to say she heard screaming as a pilot called for help, and that two other pilots took control of the plane as passengers ran towards the knife-wielding man.

Almog Itali, another passenger, told media that one of the pilots who landed the aircraft was British, while the other was European, though he did not specify a nationality. One female passenger described the "very stressful" moment people realised the plane was descending, telling Israel Hayom: "We understood the pilots lost control." She added that there were people with shirts covered in blood, before saying: "Now we are fine and want to return home." The presence of multiple pilots able to take over the controls appears to have been decisive in preventing a worse outcome.

The international response was swift. Shortly after the incident, the Israeli and Saudi Arabian air forces dispatched fighter jets, while Netanyahu held urgent consultations. Speaking later on Wednesday, the Israeli prime minister called the situation "a very serious security incident" and said Israeli security forces are "maintaining close contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety of the passengers." The involvement of Saudi airspace and emergency services adds a diplomatic dimension to an event that unfolded across multiple jurisdictions in a matter of hours.

For Flydubai, a state-owned carrier based in Dubai, the incident raises uncomfortable questions about cockpit security and crew screening, though no evidence has yet emerged to suggest systemic failings. The diversion to Tabuk, rather than a return to Dubai or a continuation to Israel, reflects standard emergency protocols: land at the nearest suitable airport when control of an aircraft is in doubt. The fact that the plane briefly entered Jordanian airspace before looping back into Saudi Arabia illustrates how quickly a crew's decisions must be made under extreme pressure.

Attention now turns to the investigation. Saudi authorities are questioning the detained pilot, while Israeli officials have signalled they view the attack through a counter-terrorism lens. Yet the absence of a confirmed motive means conclusions about the attacker's affiliations or intentions remain premature. What is clear is that a flight carrying at least 150 people came within moments of catastrophe, and that a wounded pilot, a quick-thinking passenger, and a crew willing to retake the controls collectively prevented the worst. Netanyahu's tribute to Machchhar as a hero who saved 174 lives is likely to echo well beyond the confines of this single, terrifying journey.