Flydubai Flight 1073: Cockpit Attack Diverts Dubai-Tel Aviv Jet to Saudi Arabia

Flydubai Flight FZ1073 left Dubai International Airport on 30 September 2026 bound for Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, carrying 174 passengers and 6 crew members on a Boeing 737 MAX 8, according to Wikipedia's account of flight-tracking data and Newsweek's reporting. Partway through the flight the aircraft rapidly lost altitude and transmitted emergency and hijack-alert codes before diverting.

The jet landed safely at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. In a statement published on its newsroom site, flydubai said on-duty crew secured the aircraft and diverted it safely to Tabuk, and that all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for.

What flydubai has confirmed — and what it has not

In its statement, flydubai described the event only as an altercation in the flight deck, without characterising it as a hijacking or attack. The airline said the motive was unknown and remained subject to a formal investigation, and it asked the public to avoid premature speculation while authorities gathered the facts, according to its newsroom statement.

Separately, Israeli officials gave a more specific account. CBS News reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the first officer stabbed the captain and that passengers and crew subdued him. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz characterised the episode as an attempted terror attack with extremist motivation, according to CBS News. Newsweek reported that the aircraft transmitted both the 7700 general-emergency code and the 7500 hijack code, and that the captain, identified as Indian national Smit Machchhar, was stabbed multiple times.

How the aircraft was brought under control

According to Wikipedia's sourced timeline, the captain managed to open the cockpit door after being wounded, allowing passengers to enter. Three passengers — named as Tzvika Manes, Yaniv Hayun and Musaev Shota — are reported to have overpowered the first officer, with Hayun pulling him out of the cockpit. Newsweek reported that passengers restrained the man using corded headphones. Off-duty flydubai pilots who happened to be aboard then took the controls and completed the diversion to Tabuk, both CBS News and Newsweek reported.

Accounts differ on exactly how severe the aircraft's loss of altitude was. Wikipedia's figures describe a drop from roughly 34,000 feet to about 17,000 feet in under a minute, while Newsweek reported a loss of more than 14,000 feet in about 30 seconds. Both figures point to a rapid, uncontrolled descent before the aircraft was stabilized.

Arrests and response

Saudi authorities arrested the first officer after the plane landed in Tabuk. He was described by CBS News and Newsweek as an Omani national; Wikipedia's account adds that he had worked for flydubai for less than a year. Flydubai said it sent two replacement aircraft to Tabuk to carry the stranded passengers and crew onward, and said it would suspend all flights to and from Israel while the investigation continued, according to its newsroom statement.

Newsweek reported that Israel's Transportation Minister Miri Regev called for all flydubai flights to Israel to be suspended and for a review of whether aviation agreements had been violated. CBS News reported that four people with dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship were among those on board, and that passengers were later flown on to Tel Aviv.

What is known and what remains unconfirmed

• Known: Flight FZ1073 diverted from its Dubai–Tel Aviv route and landed safely at Tabuk Airport, Saudi Arabia, on 30 September 2026, with all people aboard alive.
• Known: Flydubai confirms an altercation occurred in the cockpit and that on-duty crew secured and landed the aircraft.
• Known: Saudi authorities arrested the first officer, an Omani national, after landing.
• Disputed/unconfirmed: Whether the first officer stabbed the captain and deliberately tried to crash the plane — an account given by Israeli officials but not yet confirmed by flydubai or an independent investigation.
• Unknown: The motive behind the cockpit altercation, which flydubai says remains under formal investigation.

Background

According to Wikipedia's account, the incident is under investigation by authorities in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Wikipedia also reported that the first officer's Omani nationality was said to conflict with flydubai's arrangement with Israel, under which Omani pilots were not to be scheduled on the Tel Aviv route because Oman and Israel do not have diplomatic relations.