A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv narrowly avoided disaster after one of its pilots allegedly tried to stab his colleague, sending the aircraft into a steep plunge before it made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
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it → avoid → Arabia
The sequence of events was outlined in a video message by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the co-pilot who allegedly stabbed the pilot had intended to crash the aircraft.
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who → outline → aircraft
What happened in the cockpit?
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What → happen → cockpit
A co-pilot of a flydubai aircraft carrying more than 170 passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv allegedly stabbed the pilot and attempted to crash the plane.
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pilot → carry → plane
The struggle began when the pilot was stabbed, sending the aircraft plunging nearly 14,000 feet.
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pilot → begin → aircraft
A possible crash was averted after a passenger and crew members entered the cockpit and managed to stabilise the aircraft.
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passenger → avert → aircraft
The jet had plunged more than 14,000 feet (4,300 metres) in less than 30 seconds, reportedly reaching close to the speed of sound.
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jet → plunge → sound
The intervention by the passengers and crew likely helped avert a disaster.
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intervention → help → disaster
“They prevented a huge disaster,” Mr. Netanyahu said at a briefing on Wednesday (September 30, 2026).
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Netanyahu → prevent → Wednesday
The flight later made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot, whose identity has not been disclosed, was taken into custody and questioned by local authorities.
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identity → make → authorities
According to flight-tracking website Flightradar, Flight FZ1073 first transmitted the general emergency code 7700 before switching to 7500, a code indicating unlawful interference and a possible hijacking.
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FZ1073 → accord → interference
The aircraft later switched back to 7700, the service said.
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service → switch → 7700
More than 10 hours later, the passengers arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport aboard a replacement flydubai aircraft.
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passengers → arrive → aircraft
Leaders hail Indian pilot
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Leaders → hail → pilot
The pilot who was stabbed was identified as an Indian national, Smit Machchhar, according to a post on X by Mr. Netanyahu.
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who → stab → Netanyahu
“My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery,” Mr. Netanyahu wrote.
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Netanyahu → write → bravery
“Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker, preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster,” he further said.
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he → stab → disaster
The Indian Embassy in Riyadh and the Indian Consulate in Jeddah have been monitoring Mr. Machchhar’s health condition.
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Embassy → monitor → condition
Meanwhile, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Captain Machchhar as a “hero” for fighting off the co-pilot, who allegedly attempted to crash the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight.
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who → hail → flight
He said the country was proud of the pilot’s courage in helping save hundreds of lives and averting a major tragedy.
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country → say → tragedy
U.S. President Donald Trump also hailed the flydubai pilot as a “hero” for fighting off the knife attack, opening the cockpit door and calling for help, which helped thwart the alleged attempt to crash the aircraft.
“It seems as though the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job, and he stabbed the pilot,” the U.S. President said.
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President → hail → pilot
The incident comes weeks before Mr. Netanyahu faces re-election, with security emerging as a key issue for Israel’s population of around 10 million.
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security → come → million
Mr. Netanyahu said almost all the passengers aboard the flight were Israelis and that those who intervened “displayed exceptional resourcefulness and courage”.
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who → say → resourcefulness
“They saved many lives,” he said.
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he → save → lives
Mr. Netanyahu alleged that the co-pilot had been attempting to crash the aircraft and kill those on board.
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pilot → allege → board
Israel’s Foreign Ministry described the incident as “an attempted terrorist attack” aimed at damaging the country’s relationship with one of its key West Asian partners.
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Ministry → describe → partners
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the incident aboard the aircraft “was a jihadist terrorist attack attempt, which was thwarted only thanks to the bravery of several Israeli passengers who broke into the cockpit and overpowered the terrorist”.
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who → say → terrorist
Flydubai suspends flights to Israel
The airline said the reasons and motive behind the incident remained unknown and were subject to a formal investigation.
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reasons → suspend → investigation
“At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation.
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reasons → underlie → investigation
We urge all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts,” the airline said in a statement.
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airline → urge → statement
A repatriation flight sent to bring back the passengers later landed in Tel Aviv.
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flight → send → Aviv
Flydubai subsequently said its flights to and from Israel would remain suspended while the incident was investigated.
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incident → say → Israel
The airline said it was cooperating with the relevant authorities and that all passengers were safe.
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passengers → say → authorities
The co-pilot accused of carrying out the stabbing was arrested and was being questioned by Saudi authorities.
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pilot → accuse → authorities
The investigation is expected to examine the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, commonly known as black boxes.
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investigation → expect → boxes
The two devices record cockpit conversations and key flight parameters, which can help investigators reconstruct the sequence of events and determine the circumstances surrounding an aviation incident.
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investigators → record → incident
Cockpit video footage, if available, could provide a clearer picture of what happened.
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what → provide → picture
Commercial aircraft are equipped with audio and flight data recorders that capture pilots’ communications and information relating to aircraft systems and controls.
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that → equip → systems
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