Israel-bound plane pilot stabbed by co-pilot causing jet to plunge 18K feet, sparking hijacking fears: officials

 An Israel-bound passenger plane pilot was reportedly stabbed several times by the jet’s co-pilot in the cockpit — and the terrifying scenes caused the aircraft to plunge almost 20,000 feet in minutes, sparking fears of a “terrorist attack in mid-air.”

The jet, which departed Dubai for Tel Aviv just before 7 a.m., was cruising at around 34,000 feet before violence broke out in the cockpit around two-and-a-half hours into the flight, Israel’s Channel 12 reported. 

The co-pilot tried to take control of the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane, which was carrying 174 passengers including 27 children, and attacked the pilot several times, the outlet reported.

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A passenger was covered in blood after trying to break up a stabbing in the cockpit on a Tel-Aviv bound flight.@aviationbrk/X

“We were either going to crash or be murdered,” one passenger told I24 News.

Israeli officials have announced a terrorism investigation.

“One pilot stabbed the other and tried to do 9/11,” an official said, according to Channel 12.

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Flydubai flight FZ1073 jet seen with damage to the plane.obtained by NY Post

“A very serious disaster was averted,” they said, fearing a repeat of the July 1976 incident where an Air France Flight bound for Paris was hijacked.

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Some 174 passengers were on the flight that was forced into making an emergency landing.@aviationbrk/X

The jet dropped from an altitude of approximately 33,000 feet to around 15,400 feet in just 12 minutes, according to FlightAware data.

Israeli fighter jets were scrambled as a precaution and the flight crew and passengers rushed to stop the aggressor.  The plane made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia — a civilian and military base in the kingdom.

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Yasmin Abukasis of Israel, whose daughter is traveling on a flydubai plane, speaks to the media at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026.AFP via Getty Images

Pictures have since surfaced showing passengers covered in blood, the Mail reported.

FlyDubai — the low-cost sister carrier of Emirates airlines—operated the flight. A spokesperson confirmed an incident occurred and that the plane landed safely in Tabuk.

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The plane had left Dubai and was bound for Israel.via REUTERS

“Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities,” the carrier said. “Further updates will be issued as additional confirmed details become available,” the spokesperson said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the situation is under control, with officials working to put passengers on alternative flights.

The flight left Dubai just before 7 a.m. Wednesday and the UAE has become a popular vacation destination for Israeli tourists since the countries normalized relations in 2020. 

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Passengers are pictured at the arrivals of the Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.AFP via Getty ImagesIsrael has not experienced a hijacking in decades but maintains some of the strictest airport security in the world, including often invasive check-in procedures for Israel-bound flights.

Israelis were targeted in a string of hijackings and airplane attacks by Palestinian militants in the 1960s and 1970s.

https://nypost.com/2026/09/30/world-news/israel-bound-plane-makes-emergency-landing-in-saudi-arabia-after-pilots-brawl-sparks-hijacking-fears-reports/