A Flydubai flight bound for Israel was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and attempted to deliberately crash the airliner carrying nearly 180 passengers.
The midair crisis unfolded aboard Flight FZ 1073 en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv as the Boeing 737 approached Jordanian airspace. According to Israeli officials and passenger accounts, the co-pilot attacked the captain with a blade in a bid to seize the flight controls and sabotage the aircraft. Flight-tracking data indicated that the aircraft suddenly entered a steep nosedive, plunging approximately 16,000 feet in less than two minutes.
Despite suffering multiple stab wounds, the captain managed to unlock the flight deck door, allowing assistance to enter the cockpit. A group of passengers, joined by off-duty crew members traveling aboard the flight, breached the cabin and overpowered the assailant before restraining him. The crew transmitted distress signals indicating unlawful interference, prompting Israeli defense forces to briefly scramble fighter jets near the border.
Remaining flight personnel subsequently regained control and diverted the jet safely to Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Both injured pilots were transported to a local hospital, and Saudi authorities took the suspect into custody for questioning. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the captain and passengers for their courage in thwarting what Israeli authorities described as an attempted terror attack.
Flydubai stated that a formal investigation remains ongoing, while travelers were later repatriated to Tel Aviv aboard a replacement aircraft.