Co-Pilot Stabs Captain Mid-Flight as Israel Probes Attempted Terror Attack on Tel Aviv-Bound Jet

A routine midday flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv turned into a scramble for survival on Wednesday when a struggle erupted in the cockpit of a flydubai jet, leaving both pilots injured and forcing the aircraft to divert to Saudi Arabia. Israeli officials now say they are treating the episode as an attempted terror attack, not a mental health crisis.

The plane landed safely at Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia, and all passengers were accounted for. The incident has revived security fears in Israel only weeks before a national election, and it has thrust the quiet cooperation between Israel and the Gulf states into an uncomfortable spotlight.

What Happened Aboard Flight FZ1073

The aircraft, a Boeing 737 operating as flight FZ1073, was carrying roughly 150 passengers, most of them Israeli citizens, on a route that normally crosses Saudi and Jordanian airspace. According to Israeli officials, the co-pilot attacked the captain, prompting cabin crew and passengers to force their way into the cockpit and regain control of the jet.

Flight-tracking data showed the plane plunging more than 17,000 feet in about two minutes before a first emergency signal went out. The aircraft then transmitted an alert indicating possible unlawful interference - a code reserved for hijackings and similar threats - before it settled onto the runway at Tabuk, a civilian airport adjacent to a Saudi military base.

Passenger accounts described chaos in the cabin. Miryam Shira Ohayon told reporters the plane was "pretty much out of control" when the stabbing occurred over Jordan. "The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane," she said. "It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralized him."

Another family member waiting at Ben Gurion Airport said her daughter aboard the flight heard screaming and saw a man holding a knife force one of the pilots to the floor. Israeli media published a photo purporting to show blood on a passenger's shirt, though the image could not immediately be independently verified.

Tabuk's airport authority said both the captain and the first officer were hospitalized after the struggle. A doctor on board provided first aid, and the two off-duty pilots sitting in the cabin were reportedly summoned to the cockpit to help fly the jet the rest of the way.

Israel's Assessment and the Recovery Operation

Israeli officials, briefing on condition of anonymity, said the working assessment is that the attack was premeditated and had no connection to a psychological breakdown by either pilot. One official identified the suspected attacker as an Omani national, though early reports conflicted, with some Israeli outlets describing the pilots as Omani and Emirati and others as Russian and Ukrainian.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held emergency security consultations and cleared the rest of his schedule to manage the fallout. His office said the situation was under control and that Israel was working to bring the passengers home. A recovery flight was dispatched to Tabuk to retrieve the travelers.

The incident carries particular weight because Israel and Saudi Arabia have no formal diplomatic relations. The jet's safe landing depended on Saudi ground crews and a Saudi hospital treating Israeli pilots - an act of practical cooperation between two governments that do not recognize each other.

Flydubai said only that the flight experienced an incident and diverted to Tabuk, where it landed safely, with all passengers safe and accounted for. The airline, the low-cost sister carrier of Emirates, runs daily service on the Dubai-Tel Aviv route.

Why the Timing Matters

The scare lands at a volatile moment. Israel is weeks away from its first election since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks, and security has become a central theme of the campaign. A foiled attempt to bring down a plane full of Israeli travelers is the kind of event that reshapes the closing weeks of a race.

Reaction from Israeli politicians was swift. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the attacker "a terrorist who planned to crash a plane," while centrist lawmaker Benny Gantz said it was too early to know the full sequence of events but praised the passengers' courage. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also weighed in on the incident.

Flydubai operates daily flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv, and the route has become a staple for Israeli travelers since the two countries normalized relations in 2020. That Gulf connection has repeatedly proven consequential during the region's security crises, including reports that Netanyahu dismissed a direct UAE warning of the Hamas attack in the days before October 7, 2023.

It is not the first time an Israel-UAE flight has been forced onto Saudi soil. A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Riyadh in September 2025 because of a medical problem.

What Comes Next

Investigators now face the difficult task of piecing together the attacker's motive, his travel history and whether he acted alone. Israeli officials said they are examining the possibility he had accomplices or direction from abroad, and authorities in Oman have yet to comment.

Saudi Arabia, which has served as an intermediary in regional diplomacy, is also in the delicate position of holding the aircraft, the passengers and the injured pilots while Israel and the Gulf states sort out the next steps. Israeli officials have not said whether they will seek custody of the suspect.

For travelers on one of the Middle East's busiest cross-border routes, the episode is a reminder that the normalization deals of recent years have not erased the region's threats. Expect Israel to tighten security screening on Gulf routes and to lean harder on its Gulf partners for intelligence cooperation in the days ahead.

The full picture may take weeks to emerge, but the core fact is already clear: a jet full of civilians came within minutes of catastrophe, and a handful of quick-thinking people in the cabin stopped it.