On a recent flydubai flight carrying 174 passengers from the UAE to Israel, an Omani copilot stabbed the captain, causing the plane to lose control and plummet. The identity and motive of the attacker remain unclear as investigations are ongoing in Saudi Arabia, where the plane made an emergency landing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the copilot has been arrested, while Indian Captain Smit Machchhar, who was severely injured but stabilized the descent, is now in stable condition.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-01,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 30, 2026, a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was forced to make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after transmitting distress signals. The plane had initially turned around over Jordan and later activated codes indicating potential unlawful interference with the aircraft before reverting back to general emergency alerts. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held urgent consultations as a precautionary measure, while Israel scrambled fighter jets due to hijacking concerns. However, an altercation between the pilots was cited by officials as the reason for the distress signals, not a hijacking attempt. The flight carried around 150 people, mostly Israelis, and everyone on board was reported safe after landing in Saudi Arabia.
Written for “Israel Bound Flight Diverted” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 280 other(s) covering the same event.
Saudi and UAE authorities have said little publicly beyond confirming that investigations were underway.
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investigations → say → little
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the copilot was arrested.
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copilot → say → ?
The identity and motive of the Omani copilot who stabbed his captain on a flight to Israel, causing the plane to plummet dangerously and forcing it to land in Saudi Arabia, remained unknown on Thursday as investigators raced to learn more.
Israeli passengers on the flydubai flight carrying 174 people from the United Arab Emirates to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv have described how the bloodied Indian captain managed to open the cockpit door to let them in before they grappled with the copilot and stabilised a descent so sharp that the plane’s rudder was torn away.
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rudder → stab → descent
“We felt helpless, suspended in midair and I didn’t know who to turn to.
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I → feel → who
But it was all instinct to survive,” one of the responders, Asaf Rajuan, said in a new statement shared by Israel’s presidency.
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one → survive → presidency
Saudi and UAE authorities have said little publicly beyond confirming that investigations were underway.
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investigations → say → little
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the copilot was arrested.
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copilot → say → ?
Captain Smit Machchhar, widely praised as another hero of the flight, was reportedly in stable condition, the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said overnight.
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Embassy → praise → Arabia
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Machchhar as a "HERO" in comments on Thursday.
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Modi → hail → Thursday
"In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others," Modi said.
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Modi → injure → others
"His valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy.
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valour → help → tragedy
The condition of the arrested copilot was not clear.
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condition → arrest → copilot
In a CNN interview aired on Wednesday evening, Netanyahu said the attacker was an Omani national and was being interrogated in Saudi Arabia.
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attacker → air → Arabia
US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he and Netanyahu discussed the incident “at length” over the phone and that it seemed as though the copilot “was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job."
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copilot → tell → phone
Netanyahu said he spoke with the UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who agreed that Israel would join the interrogation of the suspect.
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Israel → say → suspect
Israel’s foreign ministry said the people on board were from Israel, India and the UAE.
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people → say → Israel
The US State Department said four passengers had American citizenship.
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passengers → say → citizenship
Flydubai has said its flights to and from Israel would be suspended while an investigation takes place.
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investigation → say → place
Netanyahu had warned in recent days of unspecified, heightened security threats.
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Netanyahu → warn → threats
The country is a week away from the anniversary of the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.
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which → lead → Gaza
In the chaos that unfolded about two and a half hours after leaving Dubai, the flight descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in about a minute, before making an erratic circle close to the Jordanian border and landing in the Saudi city of Tabuk about an hour later, according to Flightradar24, which identified the aircraft as a Boeing 737 Max 8.
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which → unfold → Max
A person who heard the flight’s communications with air traffic control described the plane being turned away by Saudi Arabia and Jordan before eventually landing in Tabuk, while passengers screamed in the background.
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passengers → hear → background
The pilot’s voice was trembling as he called “mayday” and said a hijacking was taking place.
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hijacking → tremble → place
The air control operators gave no reason for the refusals.
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operators → give → refusals
The person who heard the communications spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
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they → hear → media
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Thursday he would present "heroism" awards to four Israelis who helped overpower a flydubai co-pilot and prevented him from crashing the plane they were on.
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they → say → plane
"You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster.
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You → put → disaster
Today, the whole world saw the beautiful and courageous face of Israeli society," Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, said in a statement.
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who → see → statement
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