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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/09\/30\/world\/middleeast\/flydubai-attack-israel-uae.html?emc=edit_na_20261001&nl=breaking-news&segment_id=227336",
    "parsed_content": "Cockpit Attack on Flight to IsraelWhat to KnowBloody Brawl on PlaneVideo: Eyewitness AccountsFlyDubai and IsraelAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTBloody Attack in the Cockpit of a Flight to Israel, and a Terrifying Plunge\u201cI don\u2019t deserve to die like this,\u201d said one passenger on Flight 1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The motive of the cockpit stabbing remains unknown, officials said.Listen \u00b7 7:32 min Share full articleVideoPassengers Recount \u2018Earth-Shattering\u2019 Experiences After Pilot Stabbed on FlyDubai FlightPassengers on a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv speak out after the plane made an emergency landing when a fight broke out in the cockpit.CreditCredit...Jack Guez\/Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty ImagesBy David M. HalbfingerAaron BoxermanNatan OdenheimerAdam Rasgon and Thomas FullerDavid M. Halbfinger reported from Jerusalem, and Aaron Boxerman, Natan Odenheimer and Adam Rasgon from Tel Aviv.Sept. 30, 2026Updated 9:56 p.m. ETSee 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 At first, it seemed like turbulence. Then like something worse than merely rough air on the flight Wednesday from Dubai to Tel Aviv.\u201cThe plane just started going up and down,\u201d said Meital Zoller, a passenger on the FlyDubai plane. Soon, she said, \u201cwe started hearing screams.\u201dThe shouts were coming from near the cockpit, said another passenger, Adam Polovincik. \u201cWe tried to be \u2018cool\u2019 for our kids,\u201d Mr. Polovincik said in an interview.Then the bottom dropped out. The plane, a 737, nose-dived at a sickening angle, overhead bins popped open, and luggage flew out. Passengers shrieked and prayed. Many were sure they were about to die.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTWhat is clear so far is that there was a bloody clash in the cockpit miles above the desert of Saudi Arabia, that intervention by passengers and crew members saved the day, and that the roughly 170 people aboard endured minutes of mortal terror.One of the plane\u2019s pilots had attacked the other and was apparently trying to crash the plane, Israeli officials and passengers said. The authorities in the United Arab Emirates, where the flight originated, and Saudi Arabia, where the aircraft touched down, have not confirmed that.The plane plunged so sharply that the passengers, nearly all of them Israeli, felt pinned to their seats.ImageMeital Zoller, a passenger on the FlyDubai plane, arriving at Ben Gurion Airport.Credit...Ariel Schalit\/Associated Press\u201cYou couldn\u2019t move,\u201d one passenger, Hila Gaier told Kan, Israel\u2019s public broadcaster, \u201cyou were sucked downward.\u201d She turned to her two daughters and partner and told them that she loved them.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAlmog Itali, another passenger, told Israel\u2019s Channel 12, \u201cThe plane kept stabilizing and then dropping again for several long seconds.\u201dWant to stay updated on what\u2019s happening in Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates? Sign up for Your Places: Global Update, and we\u2019ll send our latest coverage to your inbox.Flight 1073 dropped more than 17,000 feet in less than two minutes, according to data from Flightradar24. It sent a general emergency signal, then a signal of unlawful interference and then a general emergency signal again. It abruptly reversed course over northern Saudi Arabia, near the Jordanian border.\u201cIn my head, I said: \u2018I\u2019m so screwed, I\u2019m so screwed. I don\u2019t deserve to die like this,\u2019\u201d Peleg Itali, a 16-year-old passenger, said in an interview.Amid the panic, a number of men rushed to the cockpit, where they found one pilot badly injured, and overcame his attacker, the other pilot, who was wielding a knife, witnesses said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the injured pilot had been stabbed and had managed to open the cockpit door.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAsaf Rajuan, a passenger on the flight, told reporters that he and five other passengers \u201cacted on instinct,\u201d entering the cockpit and subduing the pilot-turned-attacker. \u201cWe neutralized him very quickly,\u201d he said.ImageAsaf Rajuan, center, at Ben Gurion Airport. He said he and others helped overpower the pilot who attacked another pilot.Credit...Erik Marmor\/Getty Images\u201cWhen they opened the cockpit, there was a lot of blood,\u201d another passenger, Miriam Ohayon, told Israel\u2019s i24 News.Video from the episode shows two bloodied men lying on the floor panels, one shirtless and the other wearing what appears to be a pilot\u2019s uniform. Shota Musayev, a passenger who is trained as a dentist, said he had treated the wounded pilot midair, including for severe wounds to his head and cuts on his fingers.Mr. Musayev said he and another passenger also tied the attacker\u2019s hands with headphone cables. He said it was not immediately clear if the blood on the attacker\u2019s body was his own or another person\u2019s.Two pilots sitting just in front of him in the passenger cabin went to the cockpit, took control of the plane and landed it safely, Mr. Rajuan said, and others on board gave similar accounts.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTA FlyDubai spokesperson said only that there had been an altercation on the flight deck, and that crew members aboard had secured the aircraft.\u201cOne of our fears was that we didn\u2019t know where we would land,\u201d Mr. Rajuan said. \u201cThere was only desert below us.\u201dThe plane landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where passengers disembarked, some of them in bloodstained clothing, and waited for a replacement aircraft sent by FlyDubai to take them on to Tel Aviv. By Wednesday night, all the passengers had arrived safely in Israel.ImagePassengers from the FlyDubai flight arriving at Ben Gurion Airport. Credit...Jack Guez\/Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty ImagesIsraeli officials said on Wednesday that much about the traumatic flight remained unclear, including why a pilot would have tried to crash the plane, and whether it was specifically an attack on Israelis, as many people in Israel \u2014 including some in the government \u2014 quickly concluded.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThree Israeli security officials said that the co-pilot believed to have carried out the attack was an Omani national. The Omani Foreign Ministry declined to immediately comment.The FlyDubai spokesperson urged all parties \u201cto refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts.\u201d The airline later said it was suspending all flights to and from Israel pending an investigation into the episode.Mr. Netanyahu identified the pilot who was stabbed as Capt. Smit Machchhar, an Indian citizen. \u201cDespite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker \u2014 preventing a catastrophic midair disaster,\u201d Mr. Netanyahu said.The Indian Embassy in Riyadh confirmed the pilot\u2019s identity and said in a statement that he was in a hospital in Tabuk in stable condition.Miki Zohar, Israel\u2019s minister of culture, thanked the Saudi authorities for their role in helping the Israeli passengers.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT\u201cI thank the Saudi people for the warm welcome and kindness they showed the Israeli passengers,\u201d he wrote in a post on X. \u201cGod willing, may peace come to us,\u201d he added. Israel and Saudi Arabia don\u2019t maintain diplomatic relations or any open ties.Gideon Saar, the Israeli foreign minister, said he had spoken with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, his Emirati counterpart, after the episode. In a statement, Mr. Saar\u2019s office said the two had expressed \u201cmutual determination\u201d to cooperate against \u201cextremist elements that seek to harm security.\u201dAfter landing at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Wednesday night, the passengers of Flight 1073 got back to the mundane tasks of airline travel. They stacked their luggage on carts and rolled them into the public area of the terminal. They were greeted by family members \u2014 and countless popping flash bulbs and television cameras.Some began crying as they recounted the ordeal.Ms. Zoller, who had been traveling with her husband and child, said she felt \u201cso relieved to be back in Israel.\u201d\u201cThank God we are OK,\u201d she said, her eyes filling with tears.Reporting was contributed by Isabel Kershner, Vivian Nereim, Max Bearak, Johnatan Reiss, Karla Adam and Ismaeel Naar.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2026-09-30T20:49:20+00:00",
    "author_name": "David M. Halbfinger, Aaron Boxerman, Natan Odenheimer, Adam Rasgon, Thomas Fuller",
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    "ai_headline": "Bloody Attack in the Cockpit of a Flight to Israel, and a Terrifying Plunge",
    "ai_simplified_title": "Pilot Stabs Co-Pilot on FlyDubai Flight to Israel",
    "ai_excerpt": "A FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv experienced a terrifying mid-air incident when one pilot attacked another in the cockpit, leading to a rapid descent. Passengers and crew intervened, subduing the attacker and landing the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.",
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