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

A Flydubai passenger flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after one pilot stabbed the other in the cockpit and reportedly attempted to crash the aircraft, according to Israeli officials and passenger accounts. All passengers and crew were ultimately safe.

Flydubai flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying around 174 passengers (including about 27 children, many of them Israeli), departed Dubai International Airport early on September 30, 2026, bound for Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. Roughly two to two-and-a-half hours into the flight, while cruising at about 33,000–34,000 feet over or near Saudi Arabia, an altercation erupted in the flight deck.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that one pilot stabbed the other and “apparently tried to crash the plane with its passengers on board.” The aircraft then plunged sharply—dropping more than 14,000–17,000 feet in under two minutes—before being brought under control. Israeli officials have described the incident as a suspected attempted jihadist terror attack or 9/11-style crash attempt. Defence Minister Israel Katz called it an “attempted jihadist terror attack.”

According to multiple reports citing Israeli officials and passengers, the co-pilot (identified in several accounts as an Omani national who had worked for the airline for a relatively short time) stabbed the captain. The captain has been widely identified as Indian national Smit Machchhar (also referred to as Captain Smit Machchhar), a veteran pilot previously with SpiceJet. The wounded captain reportedly managed to unlock or open the cockpit door despite his injuries, allowing passengers and crew to intervene.

Passengers described chaos: the plane went into a steep dive or spin, there were screams, and several people (including Israeli passengers and on-duty or off-duty Flydubai crew travelling as passengers) rushed forward, entered the cockpit, overpowered the attacker, and subdued him. Off-duty or relief pilots on board—reportedly including European crew, one of them British according to one passenger—then took control, stabilised the aircraft, and diverted it to Tabuk Airport (Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Airport) in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.

Both the captain and first officer were injured and hospitalised in Saudi Arabia. The suspected attacker was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities. Flydubai confirmed that “an altercation occurred in the flight deck,” that the aircraft was “successfully secured by on-duty Flydubai crew travelling on the flight,” that it diverted and landed safely at Tabuk, and that all passengers and crew are safe and accounted for. The airline said it had sent replacement aircraft to collect those on board and that the matter is under formal investigation. Saudi airport authorities also confirmed the pilots’ injuries and that investigations are underway.

No passengers were reported injured. Israeli fighter jets were scrambled as a precaution at one point. Investigations continue involving Saudi, Israeli, and other authorities into the precise sequence of events, the attacker’s motives, and security screening.