Chaos in the Sky as Co‑Pilot Stabs Captain Mid‑Air in Shocking Cockpit Attack

A commercial flight packed with Israeli passengers was minutes from catastrophe over the Middle East on Wednesday morning when the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain repeatedly in the cockpit and forced the aircraft into a terrifying high-speed plunge, according to Israeli officials, passenger accounts, and flight data.

Flydubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying roughly 174–180 people (including about 150 Israelis and some two dozen children), departed Dubai International Airport bound for Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. Roughly two hours and 15 minutes into the flight, while cruising near 34,000 feet over the region near the Jordan-Saudi border, the aircraft suddenly nosedived. Tracking data showed it dropped approximately 17,000 feet in under a minute—plummeting to around 17,000 feet—while accelerating sharply. It briefly recovered altitude before dropping again toward 15,000 feet and then flying erratically at lower altitudes for about an hour, consistent with manual rather than autopilot control.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that one pilot stabbed the other and “apparently tried to crash the plane with its passengers on board.” A senior Israeli official told media the co-pilot was under investigation amid indications he sought to take control and bring the jet down in what authorities are treating as a suspected terror attack.

Passengers reported hearing screams from the cockpit; one account relayed by a relative described the attacker emerging with a knife while shouting “Allahu Akbar.” Witnesses said the captain was stabbed multiple times, leaving significant blood in the cockpit. Israeli passengers and crew forced open the reinforced cockpit door, subdued the attacker, and helped restrain him. Off-duty pilots traveling as passengers later assisted in flying the damaged aircraft.

The plane transmitted emergency codes—first the general distress signal 7700, then briefly the hijacking/unlawful interference code 7500—prompting Israeli fighter jets to scramble as a precaution. It diverted and landed safely at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia around 9:45 a.m. local time. Both the captain (reported in some accounts as Emirati or of Indian origin) and the co-pilot (identified in multiple reports as Omani) were injured and hospitalized; the captain was described in some accounts as seriously wounded and requiring intensive care. No passengers were reported seriously injured. Photos and video circulating from the cabin showed a bloodied pilot receiving aid and a restrained crew member. The aircraft sustained visible damage, including to its rudder, attributed by experts to the extreme dive stresses.

ADVERTISEMENT

Flydubai confirmed only that the flight “experienced an incident while en route” and that all passengers were safe and accounted for after the landing in Tabuk. Saudi authorities are questioning the co-pilot. Israeli security agencies, including assessments shared with media, are investigating the event as a possible deliberate attempt to crash the plane rather than a spontaneous mental-health episode, though full details of motive and any affiliations remain under inquiry. Passengers described panic, prayers, and collective action that prevented what several called a near “9/11-style” disaster.

One passenger recounted: the plane was “pretty much out of control” until people intervened and neutralized the attacker.

The incident underscores both the vulnerability of cockpit security and the decisive role of quick-thinking passengers and crew. All aboard were eventually accounted for after the emergency landing, and arrangements were underway to return the Israeli passengers home. Investigations by Israeli, Saudi, and airline authorities continue.