Flydubai halts Israel flights after passengers subdue cockpit attacker

Israel labels incident a terror attack as investigation spans four nations

The flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was carrying more than 170 people, most of them Israeli, when one pilot stabbed another on the flight deck in what authorities are investigating as an apparent attempt to take control of the aircraft. The plane descended sharply before passengers forced their way into the cockpit and wrestled the controls from the alleged attacker, eventually bringing it under control and diverting to an emergency landing in Tabuk, in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayoun, a plumber, recounted the sequence of events in a meeting with Netanyahu that was recorded and shared by the prime minister’s office. Netanyahu was among the world leaders celebrating the bravery of the passengers and crew of the flydubai flight on Wednesday. Hayoun told the prime minister that he and other passengers heard screaming and felt the air pressure change as the plane dived, then forced their way into the cockpit and found the attacker at the instrument panel.

“I grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and dragged him out first,” Hayoun said. After subduing the attacker, he said he grabbed the controls and pulled them the way he had seen on television. Other crew members then took over, and the plane landed safely. Hayoun was later shown arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv with blood stains on his shirt.

Flydubai said its flights to and from Israel would be suspended while the investigation takes place. The airline urged all parties “to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts,” according to a statement reported by The Guardian.

Netanyahu, speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, cautioned against early conclusions about responsibility. “We’ll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices,” Netanyahu said, but added that it was “too early to say” when asked whether there was any indication of Iranian involvement.

Danon took a stronger line in a separate Fox News interview on Wednesday night. “We have no doubt that it was a terror attack from a radical individual. We still cannot link it to a terror state or terror organisation, but for sure we know there was an intention to bring that plane down,” Danon said.

President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday evening that the incident remained unclear, after speaking with Netanyahu. “It seems as though the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack-job, and he stabbed the pilot,” Trump said.

Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to reporters, identified the attacker as an Omani national. Neither Oman nor the UAE had commented publicly as of the time of the report.

Israel’s foreign ministry later briefed its diplomats around the world that the incident was an “attempted terrorist attack against Israelis, the United Arab Emirates, and the Abraham Accords,” referencing the 2020 agreement that normalized relations between Israel and the UAE. Netanyahu said he had spoken with the president of the UAE, who agreed that Israel would join the interrogation of the suspect.

The stabbed pilot was identified as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, a citizen of Mumbai. According to The Guardian, Machchhar made the emergency call and opened the cockpit door, enabling passengers and crew to rush in and subdue the attacker. Machchhar is being treated in a hospital in Tabuk, where the plane landed safely.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the pilot in a post on X early Thursday. “In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others. His valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy,” Modi wrote, calling Machchhar a “hero.”

The pilot accused of carrying out the stabbing was being questioned by Saudi authorities, Netanyahu said, adding that he expected the suspect would soon be transferred to the UAE, where the flight originated. The episode drew coordinated responses from leaders across multiple governments and prompted an investigation spanning Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and India.