'Hero' pilot stabbed by other pilot on Israel-bound plane, Israeli PM says

Updated 4 minutes ago.

Key points

• Flydubai's flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai International Airport in the UAE at 03: 05 GMT (07: 05 local time), en route to Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel.
• The passengers who had been on board flight FZ1073 arrived in Tel Aviv at around 18: 40 local time (15: 40 GMT).
• Minutes afterwards, the plane signalled an emergency code – squawk 7700 – before switching it to a squawk 7500 code reporting a hijacking.
• The passengers, who were almost all Israeli, arrived afterwards on Wednesday in Tel Aviv on a repatriation flight.
• The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia remarked Machchhar was in a stable condition in hospital.

In practice, a pilot has been arrested after he stabbed the other pilot on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv and "apparently tried to crash the plane", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remarked.

Passengers and crew overpowered the attacker and retook control of the Flydubai aircraft, landing it safely at an airport in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia, with more than 170 individuals on board.

For context, the passengers, who were almost all Israeli, arrived afterwards on Wednesday in Tel Aviv on a repatriation flight.

In practice, the stabbed pilot, named as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, has been taken to hospital but is documented to be in a stable condition. Netanyahu praised him as a "true hero" of "extraordinary bravery".

"Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker – preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster, " Netanyahu wrote on X.

"He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals."

Notably, the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia remarked Machchhar was in a stable condition in hospital.

No motive for the incident has been given and the pilot was under investigation in Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu informed Fox News on Wednesday night, before he was anticipated to be taken back to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the flight took off from.

Israel was "likely" to contribute to the investigation, the prime minister continued.

US President Donald Trump remarked he had spoken with Netanyahu after the incident, saying it seemed as though the attacker was "perhaps a terrorist" or there were other reasons behind the attack.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has additionally called it an "attempted jihadist terror attack", without giving any details.

Around two and a half hours into its journey, data from flight tracking website Flightrader24 documented a rapid descent over Saudi Arabia, dropping more than 17, 000 feet (over 5, 000m) in less than two minutes.

Around 20 minutes after these codes were signalled, the plane looped back into Saudi Arabia, where it afterwards kicked off its manual descent for landing. Less than an hour afterwards, the plane returned to squawk 7700.

While Netanyahu held urgent consultations, shortly after the incident, the Israeli and Saudi Arabian air forces dispatched fighter jets.

Initial media reports suggested a fight had broken out between the aircraft's two pilots, causing the rapid descent and landing.

Nevertheless, in the hours after the plane touched down in Tabuk, eyewitness accounts and a statement by Netanyahu confirmed one of the pilots had stabbed the other and, according to the Israeli prime minister, "apparently tried to crash" the aircraft.

He remarked an Israeli passenger informed him "the plane went into a spin and began to descend" before the passenger and a crew member entered the cockpit and overpowered the "pilot who had carried out the stabbing".

Two on-duty crew travelling on the flight were then able to land the plane safely, Flydubai remarked.

In an address on Wednesday evening, Netanyahu called the situation "a very serious security incident" and remarked Israeli security forces were "maintaining close contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety of the passengers".

Unlike Israel's defence minister, Netanyahu did not offer a motive for the incident.

"I salute these heroes who demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness and courage, " he continued. "They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster."

Flydubai remarked in an official note that "an altercation occurred in the flight deck" and the flight was "successfully secured by on-duty Flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk airport".

In practice, an airline spokesperson continued: "Our immediate priority is to ensure the ongoing safety, health, and wellbeing of all passengers and crew members involved in this incident and support the official investigation."

Notably, the passengers who had been on board flight FZ1073 arrived in Tel Aviv at around 18: 40 local time (15: 40 GMT). They were greeted at the airport by crowds of onlookers playing music, singing, dancing and waving Israeli flags.

Meanwhile, a number of residents were "very emotional and crying as they came off the plane, " a paramedic from Israel's ambulance service informed the BBC.

One passenger, Yaniv Hayun, met Netanyahu and informed him how he and others on the flight had restrained the attacker.

"The pilot who was stabbed was simply very close to the door, so it was hard for us to open it, " Hayun remarked in a video posted on social media by the prime minister's office, but before the stabbed pilot – now identified as Machchhar – collapsed, he was able to open the door.

Yaniv remarked he put the attacker. This person was trying to disable the plane, in a chokehold before other passengers assisted pin him down.

He continued that he "pulled the controls" of the plane and after it levelled out, another pilot took over control.

Zvika Meness, another passenger, informed Israeli public broadcaster Kan News that he and other passengers tied the attacker up "with his own zip ties and with the multimedia headphones".

He remarked: "There are children and families here who have been through a very severe, highly traumatic event."

Taken together, the developments around ' Hero' pilot stabbed by other pilot on Israel point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.