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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2026\/09\/30\/world\/dubai-flight-tel-aviv-israel-pilots?emc=edit_na_20260930&nl=breaking-news&segment_id=227285",
    "parsed_content": "Current time inTel Aviv3:27 p.m. Sept. 30LiveUpdated\u00a0Sept. 30, 2026, 8:18 a.m. ET9 minutes agoLive Updates: Flight to Israel Is Diverted After Pilots Clash in CockpitPassengers intervened after the pilot and co-pilot fought during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. It was not clear what had prompted the clash.Share full articleImageA FlyDubai jet over Dubai last year.Credit...Giuseppe Cacace\/Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty ImagesSee more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra m\u00e1s de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de b\u00fasqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Latest PinnedUpdated\u00a0Sept. 30, 2026, 8:10 a.m. ET17 minutes agoDavid M. HalbfingerReporting from JerusalemHere\u2019s the latest.A clash in the cockpit of a commercial jet flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday caused the plane to plunge thousands of feet before passengers intervened to subdue the attacker, according to accounts from people on board.Officials of three Israeli government agencies said it appeared that the pilot and co-pilot had gotten into a fight and one of them sent a distress signal before the plane landed at a civil-military airport in Tabuk, in northwestern Saudi Arabia. They spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose what they knew about the episode.Much about the episode, including the cause of the clash and the motive of the assailant, remained unclear hours after it unfolded. The Israeli authorities were investigating whether the episode was an attempted attack on Israelis, among other lines of inquiry, according to two of the Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with government protocol.Passengers described a melee that left at least one crew member bleeding and that ended when some of them stepped in. Social media videos that appeared to be from the plane\u2019s cabin show a wounded man and others on board covered in blood.The pilot and co-pilot were hospitalized in Saudi Arabia after sustaining injuries, according to a statement from officials at Tabuk airport. The airport had received a distress call from the flight, which then made an emergency landing in Tabuk at 9:45 a.m. local time, it said. The airport had coordinated with FlyDubai to secure a replacement aircraft, it added.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel held consultations over the incident and was \u201cmonitoring developments,\u201d his office said in a statement. \u201cThe incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel,\u201d the statement added.The plane, FlyDubai Flight 1073, sent distress signals and abruptly reversed course near the Saudi-Jordanian border about two hours and fifteen minutes into its trip. Israeli officials said it was carrying between 160 and 180 passengers.The Israeli air force briefly scrambled fighter jets but turned them back before they reached Saudi airspace, the military said. Flightradar24, a flight tracking service, reported that the plane had sent a general emergency signal, then a signal of unlawful interference, and then a general emergency signal again. Flight tracking websites show that the plane was cruising at an altitude of 34,000 feet when it suddenly descended to 15,000 feet in just 12 minutes before leveling off.Here\u2019s what else we\u2019re covering:Passenger accounts: People on the flight described chaos on board the plane and worried that the plane was set to crash as it descended sharply. Read more \u203aIsraeli reaction: Israeli security officials have not reached any conclusions about the cause of the attack but two far-right government ministers have claimed it was a foiled terrorist attack. FlyDubai: The low-cost carrier was the first to begin commercial flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv after Israel and the United Arab Emirates normalized relations under the Abraham Accords in 2020.Aaron Boxerman, Vivian Nereim and Ismaeel Naar contributed reporting.Show moreSept. 30, 2026, 7:58 a.m. ET29 minutes agoAdam RasgonReporting from Tel AvivThe Israeli authorities have opened a waiting area in Tel Aviv\u2019s Ben Gurion Airport for family members of passengers on the FlyDubai flight ahead of its eventual arrival. According to a statement issued by the Israel Airports Authority, officials will be on hand to provide family members with information and assistance.Sept. 30, 2026, 7:50 a.m. ET37 minutes agoDavid HalbfingerReporting from JerusalemTwo far-right Israeli government ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, have now issued statements asserting that the incident was a foiled terrorist attack, but Israeli security officials have not reached any conclusions about what led to the fight in the cockpit or what may have motivated whoever instigated it.While terrorism is one possible motive, others include the possibility that one of the crew members wanted to die by suicide by downing the plane, according to two Israeli defense officials. Notably, the FlyDubai plane was far from Israeli airspace when the incident began.Sept. 30, 2026, 7:49 a.m. ET38 minutes agoIsmaeel NaarReporting from Dubai, United Arab EmiratesFlyDubai operates up to 10 daily flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv.ImageThe first FlyDubai commercial flight from Dubai arrives at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Nov. 26, 2020.Credit...Emil Salman\/Pool, via Associated PressFlyDubai became the first airline offering commercial flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv in 2020 after Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement to normalize relations.The new route meant that Israeli passengers could catch connecting flights in the Persian Gulf, rather than having to go via Europe, significantly cutting down on travel time.FlyDubai operated the first scheduled commercial flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv in Nov. 2020, after Israel and the Emirates signed the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, strengthening economic, political and security relations.FlyDubai initially offered two daily flights from Dubai International Airport to Tel Aviv and now operates up to ten. The airline, which began flying in 2009, is wholly owned by Dubai through the Investment Corporation of Dubai, the government\u2019s main investment arm, which also owns Emirates Airlines.All of the flights between Dubai and Israel travel through Saudi airspace. On Aug. 31, 2020, an El Al jet carrying American and Israeli officials flew to Abu Dhabi along nearly the whole length of Saudi Arabia, the first time Riyadh had allowed an Israeli passenger plane to cross its skies. Two days later, Saudi Arabia said flights from any country to and from the Emirates could fly over its territory, without naming Israel. Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.Most FlyDubai flights fly out of Dubai International Airport\u2019s Terminal 2. Passengers bound for Tel Aviv check in from the much larger Terminal 3, which has heightened security, and can add roughly an hour to the process. Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi\u2019s main carrier, added a sixth daily flight to Tel Aviv this summer, making the route its busiest weekly route worldwide.Show moreSept. 30, 2026, 7:15 a.m. ET1 hour agoDavid M. Halbfinger and Natan OdenheimerReporting from Jerusalem and Tel AvivA passenger describes the chaos of the FlyDubai flight and fears that it would crash.ImageSecurity vehicles outside Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.Credit...Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty ImagesA passenger on the FlyDubai flight where a clash in the cockpit set off fears of a hijacking Wednesday morning described chaos on board and said that she and others on the plane had thought that it might crash.The passenger, Miriam Ohayon, spoke to an Israeli television station in one of the first detailed witness accounts to emerge from the plane.Passengers felt the jet lose control, Ms. Ohayon told Israel\u2019s Channel 24, but some of them intervened to take control. The plane, Flight 1073, which was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, landed safely in Saudi Arabia.\u201cWe heard screams on the plane, and when they opened the cockpit, there was a lot of blood,\u201d she said. Ms. Ohayon\u2019s mother, Yasmin Ohayon, told The New York Times that a woman sitting next to her daughter was among the first to realize something was wrong. The woman saw people fighting inside the cockpit as she was returning from the bathroom and alerted other passengers, Yasmin Ohayon said at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, where families were gathering to wait for the passengers.ImageYasmin Ohayon-Abuksis at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.Credit...Jack Guez\/Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty Images\u201cWithin a few minutes, our plane completely lost control, and we felt that this was it \u2014 we were about to crash,\u201d the younger Ms. Ohayon said, adding that she began reciting a Jewish prayer often said in times of distress.\u201cI\u2019ve already lost my brother; I can\u2019t do this to my mother,\u201d she said she thought. Her brother, Evyatar Ohayon-Abuksis, a soldier, was killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel.She said that passengers had subdued the attacker and that a nurse and doctor on board provided initial medical care to the pilot. Asked how the passengers had stopped the attacker, Ms. Ohayon said, \u201cI believe with their bare hands inside the cockpit.\u201dShow moreSept. 30, 2026, 6:54 a.m. ET2 hours agoAaron Boxerman, Adam Rasgon and Natan OdenheimerThe Israeli authorities are investigating whether the altercation aboard the FlyDubai flight was an attempted attack on Israelis, among other lines of inquiry, according to two Israeli security officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with government protocol. They did not immediately provide further details.Sept. 30, 2026, 6:51 a.m. ET2 hours agoAdam Rasgon and Natan OdenheimerThe Shin Bet, Israel\u2019s domestic intelligence agency, will be responsible for questioning passengers on FlyDubai flight 1073 after they return to Israel, according to two Israeli security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details.Sept. 30, 2026, 6:45 a.m. ET2 hours agoNatan OdenheimerReporting from Ben Gurion AirportI\u2019m at Ben Gurion Airport where families are arriving to greet their relatives who were onboard the FlyDubai flight, who are being returned to Tel Aviv.Yasmin Ohayon, whose daughter Miryam Ohayon was on the plane, says that a woman who was sitting next to her daughter was among the first to realize something was wrong, when she saw people fighting inside the cockpit as she was returning from the bathroom and alerted the other passengers.Ohayon also said her daughter told her that passengers stormed into the cockpit as the plane was descending.ImageCredit...Jack Guez\/Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty ImagesSept. 30, 2026, 6:42 a.m. ET2 hours agoVivian NereimReporting from Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaThe flight\u2019s pilot and co-pilot have been hospitalized in Saudi Arabia after sustaining injuries, according to a statement by Saudi Arabia\u2019s Tabuk airport. It was the first public acknowledgment of the episode by Saudi Arabia. The Saudi authorities had received a distress call from the flight, which then made an emergency landing in Tabuk at 9:45 a.m. local time, it said. The airport has coordinated with FlyDubai to secure a replacement aircraft, it added.Sept. 30, 2026, 6:23 a.m. ET2 hours agoVivian NereimReporting from Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaAuthorities in Saudi Arabia, where the flight made an emergency landing, have not made any public statements about the incident, yet. Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic relations with Israel and the topic of Saudi-Israeli ties remains highly controversial among Saudi citizens.Sept. 30, 2026, 6:17 a.m. ET2 hours agoHeedo Abu LabanReporting from JerusalemAn Israeli man, Itzhak Liber, posted a video from what appeared to be the cabin of the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight after it made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, and described how a violent struggle on board left passengers covered in blood and members of the flight crew injured.\u201cEverything\u2019s fine; we\u2019ve apparently landed in Saudi Arabia,\u201d Liber said in the footage posted to social media, describing a heavily damaged cabin and an ongoing evacuation. \u201cThere\u2019s a pilot here who\u2019s seriously injured; they\u2019re evacuating him,\u201d he said. Liber indicated that passengers had intervened directly to subdue an attacker during the incident.The Israeli prime minister\u2019s office has described the situation as being \u201cunder control\u201d but the condition of the pilots was not yet publicly known.Sept. 30, 2026, 5:57 a.m. ET3 hours agoGabby SobelmanReporting from Rehovot, IsraelOphir Spiegel, who said his mother Dalia was on the flight, told Israel\u2019s public television station: \u201cI just got a message through WhatsApp from a person I don\u2019t know, but it said, \u2018I\u2019m with Dalia and she\u2019s fine.\u2019 So this is a calming message to the Spiegels at large \u2014 Mom is fine!\u201dFlyDubai said in a statement that all passengers on the flight were \u201csafe and accounted for.\u201dSept. 30, 2026, 5:33 a.m. ET3 hours agoIsabel KershnerReporting from JerusalemPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel held consultations over the aviation incident and is \u201cmonitoring developments,\u201d according to a statement from his office. \u201cThe incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel,\u201d the statement adds.Sept. 30, 2026, 5:31 a.m. ET3 hours agoDavid HalbfingerReporting from JerusalemThe plane, a Boeing 737 Max 8, was flying a daily route between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. Israeli officials said it had between 160 and 180 passengers on board. It was due to arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv at 9:10 a.m. local time, according to the airport\u2019s flight board.",
    "published_at": "2026-09-30T09:28:39+00:00",
    "author_name": "David M. Halbfinger, Aaron Boxerman, Vivian Nereim, Ismaeel Naar, Adam Rasgon, Natan Odenheimer, Heedo Abu Laban, Gabby Sobelman, Isabel Kershner",
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    "ai_headline": "Live Updates: Flight to Israel Is Diverted After Pilots Clash in Cockpit",
    "ai_simplified_title": "Pilots Clash on Dubai-Tel Aviv Flight, Diverted to Saudi Arabia",
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