Pilot stabs colleague during flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv

A pilot stabbed his colleague during a flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv, according to Yahoo News, which reported the incident on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker apparently tried to crash the aircraft before the flight made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The incident took place aboard a Flydubai plane carrying about 150 people, most of them Israeli nationals. According to Bloomberg, the aircraft avoided a catastrophe after the attack in the cockpit forced an abrupt descent before it landed at Tabuk Airport, in Saudi territory.

Minutes after takeoff from Dubai International Airport, the crew activated an emergency code that briefly escalated to a hijacking signal, according to the flight-tracking website Flightradar24. A group of passengers managed to break into the cockpit to subdue the attacker and regain control of the aircraft.

Israeli authorities described the episode as extremely serious. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said it was an attempted terrorist attack, while the attacker was arrested by local authorities for questioning.