Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the pilot who stabbed a fellow crew member and attempted to take over a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”. The aircraft plunged more than 17,000ft (5,200m) two hours into its journey before passengers and crew overpowered the attacker and retook control.
How the incident unfolded
Flight FZ1073, carrying more than 170 people, took off from Dubai International Airport at 03:05 GMT and was bound for Ben Gurion Airport. Two hours in, the drop in altitude was picked up on the Flightradar24 tracking website, and minutes later the aircraft signalled an emergency code.
At around 05:40, having briefly entered Jordanian airspace, the aircraft looped back into Saudi Arabia and began a manual descent, landing safely at Tabuk Airport in the north west of the country. The Saudi Interior Ministry, where the plane came down, said both the pilot and co-pilot were flown back to the UAE on Thursday morning after medical teams cleared them.
A ‘suicidal’ attacker
Netanyahu told Fox News that investigators believed the attacker, an Omani national, was going to bring the plane down. He described the moments after the man was subdued and tied up by passengers and crew, saying he was “calling out to the aircrew ‘kill me, kill me’, so it’s clear he was suicidal – that’s not a question”.
Preliminary findings from an Israeli investigation led by the intelligence agency Mossad reportedly indicate the attacker intended to crash the aircraft. Interviewers spoke to passengers after they arrived in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu said he did not want to draw firm conclusions about motive yet.
A loophole on Israeli flights
Asked how an Omani pilot came to be flying to Israel, given that pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with the state are usually barred, Netanyahu said: “Obviously there was a loophole here and we’re taking care of that among other things… with the full co-operation, I have to say, of the Emirati government, so we’re both interested in making sure this doesn’t happen again.” Oman has not formally established official relations with Israel, unlike the UAE.
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Jersey dispute and Tehran questions
The UAE has claimed jurisdiction over the incident because the aircraft is registered there and flies under its flag. Meanwhile the UAE’s state news agency says domestic investigations have begun to determine “whether the incident was linked to any terrorist activity or purpose”.
Both US President Donald Trump and UAE officials have indicated to the media that Iran may be responsible, without definitively blaming Tehran. Trump told reporters that Iran would be “hit very hard” if it were deemed to have been involved. Netanyahu, asked separately whether there was an indication of Iranian involvement, replied: “It’s too early to say.”
The stabbed pilot, Indian national Captain Smit Machchar, has been visited in hospital by India’s ambassador to the UAE, Deepak Mittal, who said he was “in good health and recovering well”. Both Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have described him as a hero.
Aviation suspended
Flydubai has suspended flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv while it conducts its own investigation. Israel’s Transportation Ministry said the suspension aligns with Netanyahu’s directive. Israeli airlines including El Al, Israir and Arkia said rescue flights from Dubai were being planned from Friday to bring stranded passengers home, and the ministry sent an urgent request to Etihad to increase flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.
Why it matters
Almost everything about this incident is unusual. A flight crew member, not a passenger, was the attacker. The aircraft was operating a route from a country that has normalised relations with Israel, flown by a pilot from a country that has not. Any of those facts alone would prompt a full review of airline security and crew vetting.
There is also a live diplomatic dimension. With the UAE claiming jurisdiction, Oman involved and Tehran named by Washington without evidence, the investigation will run alongside diplomatic efforts to establish responsibility.
What happens next
The Mossad-led inquiry will interview more passengers and examine the aircraft and flight data. Both the UAE and Israel are running parallel investigations, and Flydubai’s route suspension is likely to remain in place until they conclude. Netanyahu has said Israel is working with Emirati officials to close the crew-vetting loophole that allowed the pilot on board in the first place.
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