The passengers of the FlyDubai plane that was the scene of a serious incident involving the two pilots, during a flight with about 180 Israelis on board, landed this afternoon in Tel Aviv.
© News by minute
30/09/2026
by
Lusa
Dand according to the FlightRadar24 air-tracking platform and live images of the Israel Channel 12, the aircraft carrying them arrived at Ben Gurion Airport around 6:35 p.m. locations (16h35 in Lisbon).
FlyDubai's plane left Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it had landed in emergency following the violent incident between the two pilots, which caused the aircraft to fall from 34,000 feet to 16,000 feet — about 5,000 meters — before the situation was controlled by other people in the cabin.
The pilot, a citizen of the United Arab Emirates, was seriously injured as a result of stabbing by his partner in a cockpit, a native of Oman, who also suffered injuries. Both were then transported to the hospital.
In the original flight plan, the plane was supposed to make the link between Dubai and Tel Aviv, but the incident led to a halt in Saudi Arabia, where it landed thanks to two other pilots who are out of service among the passengers.
The United Arab Emirates airline described the case as a “carpet disturbance” and the Israeli Defense Minister referred to a “terrorist attack,” although the head of the government, Benjamin Netanyahu, has not yet used this classification.
Flight FZ 1073 took off from Dubai this morning and, before arriving at the Jordan border, according to platform Flightradar24, the aircraft, flying from east to west, made a sharp turn north and lost altitude.
The plane then flew at a lower altitude, following an erratic trajectory, until, upon arriving at the Jordan border, it turned around and headed south, then headed for Tabuk.
The Israeli Prime Minister described that one of the FlyDubai flight pilots tried to shoot down the aircraft after stabbing his colleague in the cockpit.
“ During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other. Apparently, he tried to shoot down the plane with the occupants,” Netanyahu said in a video released by his office the day after he warned of the risk of “an attack by Israel’s enemies,” in the context of the legislative plans for the end of October.
In turn, the Defense Minister, Israel Katz, went further, classifying the incident as a “jihadist terrorist attack attempt”, which “was only frustrated thanks to heroism” of several Israeli passengers who dominated the copilot.
“They invaded the command cabin, subdued the terrorist and, with their own hands, returned control of the aircraft to another crew member,” Katz reported.
Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog, also referred to a “very frightening terrorist attack” and praised cooperation with the United Arab Emirates.
“ They are fighting terrorism on our side and alongside other nations in the region. We cannot allow terrorism to destabilise the region and we must prevent any attempt to undermine stability and peace,” Herzog said in a video message recorded in the occupied West Bank, where he met with Israeli troops.
FlyDubai has asked for “premature speculation to be avoided” until the causes are clarified.
According to the airline, the crew members “controlled the situation”, diverted the aircraft and landed it “safe” at Tabuk Airport, where “all passengers and crew members” arrived safely and were located.
During the incident, the plane crashed more than 5,000 meters in less than two minutes, reports the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Channel 12 broadcasts several videos that show moments of chaos in the cabin during the sudden fall.
One of the videos also shows three bloody passengers near the cockpit and the two pilots, who were on the ground, covered in blood. In the images, the three passengers claim to have “controlled the terrorist” after he stabbed their colleague and also tried to attack them.
“ We were attacked and are protecting the pilot who was attacked,” the men declared, while displaying the alleged aggressor and the victim, both lying on the ground in oxygen masks.
All Israeli passengers on the FlyDubai flight were placed on another plane from the same airline, which completed the call to Tel Aviv, where Benjamin Netanyahu was expecting them.
Initially, after some passengers refused to fly the United Arab Emirates airline, Israel attempted to charter a second plane to take them out of Tabuk, but the Saudi authorities denied access to the Israeli plane, according to the YNet portal.