Flydubai co-pilot stabs captain and tries to crash Israel-bound jet weeks after 9/11 anniversary

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL: A routine flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv turned into a cockpit emergency on Wednesday, September 30, when an Omani co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain and the aircraft suddenly plunged thousands of feet.

Passengers and crew rushed toward the cockpit as the plane entered a rapid descent, eventually helping subdue the attacker.

The Boeing 737 was diverted to Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.

The incident comes less than three weeks after the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, putting a suspected attempt to take control of an airliner back in the spotlight.

Passengers foil major attack

Flydubai flight FZ1073 was carrying 174 people, including 27 children, when the confrontation unfolded as it approached Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a passenger told him the aircraft suddenly went into a spin and began diving.

According to Netanyahu, the passenger and a crew member managed to get into the cockpit and overpower the pilot who was allegedly trying to interfere with the aircraft's systems.

Other off-duty pilots on board then helped stabilize the plane and take control.

“The plane went into a spin and began to dive,” Netanyahu quoted the passenger as saying.

The flight data showed just how quickly the situation deteriorated.

Flightradar24 data indicated that the aircraft lost nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before an emergency signal was transmitted.

Israeli officials said the passengers’ intervention prevented what could have become a mass-casualty disaster.

The injured captain was treated by a doctor on board while the aircraft headed toward Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The plane eventually landed safely and the passengers remained on the ground for about eight hours before leaving for Israel on a replacement flydubai aircraft.

The videos circulating online show passengers screaming for help as the aircraft descends thousands of feet and the altercation continues.

Suspect reportedly arrested in Saudi Arabia

The co-pilot, identified by Israeli officials as an Omani national, was reportedly arrested after the emergency landing.

Netanyahu said Saudi authorities would interrogate him. Notably, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz has called it  “an attempted t****r attack”.

Netanyahu also described the incident as a serious security event and said he had ordered additional security measures for flights entering Israel.

Netanyahu later met the Israeli passenger who subdued the co-pilot trying to crash the flight and called him a hero.

Flydubai, however, has taken a more cautious position, saying the underlying reason for the incident was not yet known and warning against premature speculation.

The timing makes the incident especially striking.

September 11, 2026, marked 25 years since the 2001 attack in which hijackers seized commercial aircrafts, turning passenger planes into weapons.

The anniversary was commemorated this month across the US, including at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, which held its annual ceremony for the victims.