Hijack attempt as captain stabbed by co-pilot and plane plunges 14,000 feet in mid-air attack

Many travellers’ fears when flying are about something going wrong with the aircraft or, perhaps even worse, something happening to the people flying it. But passengers on a flight bound for Israel were faced with a situation far beyond the usual turbulence or technical problem when violence reportedly broke out inside the cockpit and the plane suddenly went into a steep descent.

Flydubai flight FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, September 30, when the co-pilot reportedly stabbed the captain and the aircraft transmitted emergency signals before diverting towards Saudi Arabia. It eventually landed safely at Tabuk, with all passengers accounted for. What initially appeared to be a fight between the two pilots has since prompted a much more serious investigation in Israel.

Fight in the cockpit sends flight into emergency

The Boeing 737 was flying through Jordanian airspace when it sent a general emergency signal. Several minutes later, another signal indicating possible unlawful interference was transmitted, before the aircraft sent the original emergency signal again. Flight-tracking data showed the plane suddenly descended by almost 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before the first emergency alert, according to Flightradar24,  the aircraft was then diverted towards north-western Saudi Arabia rather than continuing to Israel.

At first, Israeli officials described the incident as a physical altercation between the pilots rather than a hijacking. A spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said the incident was not believed to have been a hijacking, while Flydubai confirmed only that an unspecified incident had occurred and that the aircraft had landed safely.

Passengers, however, described a much more disturbing scene. One passenger’s mother said that her daughter had heard screaming and reported seeing a man with a knife force one of the pilots to the floor, with blood visible inside the aircraft. although the source said it could not independently verify the photograph later published by Israeli media showing what appeared to be a blood-stained passenger’s shirt.

لحظة هجوم الطيار العماني على الطيار الاماراتي ومحاولته اسقاط الطائرة …
خرج الطيار الاماراتي يطلب العون وهو مصاب في عنقه ….
هرع عدد من الرجال ودخلوا مقصورة القيادة وسيطروا على الطيار العماني وسيطروا على الطائرة
بعدها سقط الطيار الاماراتي مغمى عليه بسبب طعنة في العنق نزف الكثير… pic.twitter.com/9mXzhh8yRm

— hodannat (@hodannat55) September 30, 2026

Israel now investigating possible hijacking

The assessment has since become considerably more serious. Israeli authorities are investigating whether the incident was an attempt to take control of the aircraft, rather than an argument between two members of the flight crew. Reports cited by Israeli media say the co-pilot stabbed the captain and attempted to take control of the aircraft. Israeli security officials are also examining whether the aircraft was deliberately put into a dangerous descent as part of an attempt to crash it.

The possibility of an attack resembling the September 11 attacks has been raised during the investigation, although this remains an allegation under investigation rather than an established motive. The most serious version of events has also been reflected in comments attributed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to reports, Netanyahu said the co-pilot who attacked the captain apparently attempted to bring down the aircraft. That is quite a different story from the first report of the fight in the cockpit.

Passengers and crew helped regain control

Reports also indicate that other crew members intervened after the violence began. There were also reportedly two pilots, one Ukranian and one Russian travelling as passengers who became involved in helping to regain control of the aircraft. According sources, the aircraft began to dive during the incident before control was recovered. The exact sequence of events, including who was controlling the aircraft at each stage, remains subject to investigation.

The emergency response was already underway outside the aircraft. Israel scrambled fighter aircraft after the emergency signals raised fears that the plane could have been hijacked. The situation was particularly a sensitive one because the aircraft was carrying passengers to Israel and eventually landed in Saudi Arabia, a country with which Israel does not have formal diplomatic relations. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said the situation was under control and that efforts were being made to return the passengers to Israel.

Why the flight ended up in Saudi Arabia

The route normally takes Flydubai aircraft from Dubai towards Tel Aviv, with the flight path using Saudi and Jordanian airspace. Once the emergency developed, Tabuk offered a diversion point in north-western Saudi Arabia. Flydubai confirmed that the aircraft landed safely and that all passengers were safe and accounted for. The airline has not publicly provided a detailed explanation of what happened inside the cockpit.

The flight’s diversion is not without precedent. A Flydubai service from Dubai to Tel Aviv also made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia in September 2025, although that incident was caused by a medical emergency rather than violence on board. For the passengers on FZ1073, however, the emergency was happening in the one place on the aircraft where passengers would normally expect everything to be under control.

The investigation continues 

Investigators now have to establish exactly what happened between the pilots, why the emergency signals were transmitted, what caused the aircraft’s rapid descent and whether there was an attempt to take control of the plane. Until those questions are answered, the reported 9/11 comparison remains part of the Israeli security assessment rather than a confirmed description of what the co-pilot intended. What is established is that a flight carrying passengers from Dubai to Israel was diverted to Saudi Arabia after a serious cockpit incident, and that the aircraft landed safely.