Updated September 30, 2026 at 9:19 AM MDT
TEL AVIV, Israel, and RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a pilot stabbed another pilot on a flydubai flight headed to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, attempting to crash the plane of mostly Israeli passengers, in what Israel is calling an attempted terrorist attack.
The prime minister said one passenger described to him how, as the plane "went into a spin and began to plunge," the passenger and a crew member somehow broke into the cockpit and subdued the pilot who carried out the stabbing. Another crew member managed to stabilize the plane.
Flydubai said in a statement an "altercation occurred in the flight deck" of flight FZ 1073, traveling from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Tel Aviv. It said the flight crew secured the aircraft and diverted the flight to make an emergency landing at an airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. There were no reports of injuries to passengers.
Netanyahu said the Saudi authorities arrested the suspected attacker and are questioning him. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed that.
A statement from Cluster2, the Saudi company that manages the country's airports, said the flight's captain and first officer, the co-pilot, were being treated for injuries in a hospital. "The relevant authorities are conducting the necessary investigations into the incident," the airport said.
Flydubai said it has sent aircraft to bring the passengers from Saudi Arabia to Tel Aviv. The airline said the motives behind the incident were unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called it "an attempted jihadist terrorist attack."
This is a developing story that may be updated.
Itay Stern contributed reporting from Tel Aviv.
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