Children screamed and passengers huddled together as the flydubai aircraft lost thousands of metres in altitude in a matter of seconds. In the cockpit, a pilot had stabbed his colleague. Passengers rushed forward and overpowered the attacker. Israel’s Defence Minister has described it as a jihadist terrorist attack.
WARNING: Graphic images.
“We threw ourselves on top of the pilot with all our strength and tied him up with headphones,” a passenger told Israeli media, according to Daily Mail.
Flydubai flight FZ1073 was en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning when violence broke out in the cockpit.
According to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one pilot stabbed the other and apparently attempted to crash the aircraft with the passengers on board.
Defence Minister Israel Katz describes the incident as an attempted jihadist terrorist attack. Flydubai confirms an incident of violence in the cockpit, but says the motive remains unknown and is under investigation.
Video footage reported by the Daily Mail shows how panic spread through the cabin.
Children and adults are screaming and crying. The cabin is shaking. A woman is crouching in the aisle. Others are bending their heads towards their knees and assuming a protective position.
“What’s happened? What’s going on?” a woman asks repeatedly.
A crew member asks the passengers to remain seated and fasten their seatbelts. At the same time, several men are moving towards the cockpit.
Watch video footage from witnesses:
Flight data shows a dramatic loss of altitude.
According to Flightradar24 figures reported by the Daily Mail, the aircraft dropped from 30,875 to 16,750 feet in 29 seconds. That is equivalent to around 4,300 metres.
In less than two minutes, the aircraft lost a total of over 5,000 metres in altitude. It regained some altitude along the way, before plummeting again.
Passenger Dalia Shpigelon told Haaretz that sudden, loud screams rang out across the aircraft. According to her, between three and five men stormed into the cockpit, overpowered the attacker and began to help the injured pilot.
Another passenger, Meital, said that her husband reacted immediately when someone shouted that someone had been stabbed.
“My husband realised straight away what was happening and ran towards the front of the plane,” she says, according to the Daily Mail.
She describes the stabbing and large amounts of blood.
Passenger Itzhak Liber recorded a video message for his family after the struggle.
“There was an attacker with a knife who stabbed one of the pilots. We threw ourselves on top of him and held him down together with the pilot,” he says.
Liber says the attacker was overpowered, seriously injured and tied up.
According to the Daily Mail, footage from the aircraft shows a bloodied crew member lying on the floor outside the cockpit whilst others try to help. Next to him lies another crew member, also covered in blood and apparently unconscious.
A passenger films himself with blood running from a wound on his forehead.
“Whoever can hear me: we need help,” he says.
He says the aircraft is approaching Tabuk in Saudi Arabia.
🚨 BREAKING: A pilot aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv attacked the other pilot and attempted to seize control of the aircraft in a terrorist attack.
The plane, carrying 174 Israeli passengers, plunged 14,000 feet before the situation was brought under control and… pic.twitter.com/FAgyt7dOpK
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) 30 September 2026
Whilst the passengers were fighting off the attacker, two other pilots emerged from the rear of the aircraft, according to witness statements reported by the Daily Mail.
Passenger Almog Itali describes them as relief pilots due to fly a later departure.
He says they made their way into the cockpit, pulled the aircraft up and regained control.
According to Itali, one of them was British. However, the British Foreign Office told the Daily Mail that the department was not aware of any British citizens being involved.
Flydubai confirms that crew members on board secured the aircraft and landed it safely.
Netanyahu says he has spoken to an Israeli passenger who took part in the struggle.
According to the Prime Minister, the man and a crew member managed to gain access to the cockpit. There, they overpowered the attacking pilot whilst he was attempting to sabotage the aircraft’s systems.
Other pilots then took control and stabilised the aircraft.
“They saved many lives and averted a major disaster,” says Netanyahu.
🚨🇮🇱🇦🇪 WARNING GRAPHIC:
FlyDubai pilot pictured lying on the floor after a terrifying mid-air cockpit attack…
Passengers describe pure horror as the co-pilot brutally attacked the captain, sending the plane into a steep dive before the crew and passengers regained control…
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) 30 September 2026
The incident triggered an alert among the Israeli authorities.
The aircraft first transmitted code 7700, which signals a general emergency. It then transmitted code 7500, which signals hijacking or other unlawful interference, before reverting to the first code.
Israel scrambled fighter jets and temporarily closed its airspace. Netanyahu summoned Defence Minister Katz to an emergency meeting.
An Israeli official told the Israeli media that the disaster that could have occurred was comparable to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.
The aircraft landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Images from the ground show that part of the aileron appears to be missing. The cause of the damage has not been determined.
According to Netanyahu, the Saudi authorities arrested the pilot who carried out the knife attack. An Israeli official states that the suspect is an Omani national.
“There were moments when we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive,” says a female passenger.
