Guterres responds to Tel Aviv-bound FlyDubai flight incident

A flydubai flight from Dubai to Israel landed in Saudi Arabia after a cockpit fight on Wednesday. An unnamed Israeli official told Haaretz that authorities were treating the incident as terrorism, according to an ANP report published by Nieuws.nl. [1] [2]

Flight FZ1073, bound for Ben Gurion Airport, landed safely in Tabuk. Flydubai said all passengers were safe and accounted for. A regional official told AP that a fight had broken out in the cockpit, apparently involving the pilots, and that crew members had been questioned. [2]

A passenger told The Jerusalem Post that one pilot had stabbed the other. The paper also reported that Tabuk airport said both pilots were wounded and taken to hospital. [4]

Accounts of what prompted the fight differ. Reuters reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the incident did not appear to have been caused by a hijacking. AP quoted an unnamed Israeli official saying it might have been an attempt to attack Israelis and that the investigation was continuing. [5] [2]

Netanyahu’s office said the situation was under control and Israel was working to bring the passengers home. Flydubai planned to send another aircraft to take them to Tel Aviv. [2] [4]

Update

Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has alleged that a “terrorist” planned to crash the flydubai aircraft diverted to Saudi Arabia and kill the 180 Israelis he said were on board. He made the claim on X but did not explain how he had reached his conclusion about a terrorist motive, Nieuws.nl/ANP reported. [10]

Reuters reported that two Israeli officials described an attempted terrorist attack as Israel’s current assessment. A regional official told the Associated Press that the cause of the fight between the pilots was not immediately clear. [14] [2]

Ben-Gvir’s figure of 180 Israelis on board differs from Israeli media accounts cited by Reuters, which put the number at around 150. Flydubai said all passengers were safe after the aircraft landed at Tabuk. [10] [14] [13]

Update

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the incident aboard flydubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was an attempted jihadist attack. The aircraft diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia after an altercation in the cockpit and landed safely. [15] [17]

Katz said preliminary information indicated that the person he called the attacker intended to crash the aircraft with everyone aboard. He credited several Israeli passengers with entering the cockpit, subduing the person and returning control to another team of pilots on board. [16]

Flydubai said on-duty crew travelling on the flight secured the aircraft and that all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for. It said the reasons and motives behind the incident remained unknown and were subject to a formal investigation. [17]

Update

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel was tightening security for commercial aviation after an incident on a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, ANP/Reuters reported. [20] The airline said an altercation occurred on the flight deck of flight FZ1073 before it diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely. [22]

In remarks reproduced by Israeli outlet Srugim, Netanyahu said he had instructed the security establishment to prepare for further potential threats. [21] It remains unclear what the aviation measures will involve or when they will take effect.

Update

A passenger from the diverted flydubai flight told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion Airport that he helped pin down an alleged cockpit attacker and pulled the aircraft’s controls backwards as it nosedived, the BBC reports. [25]

Separately, The Times of Israel reported that a passenger it identified as Yaniv told Channel 12 he had realised nobody was at the two cockpit control levers as the plane began to descend. He said watching the television programme Air Disasters had taught him that pulling the levers would make an aircraft climb. [26]

Flydubai said crew travelling on the flight secured the aircraft before it landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The airline said the reasons for the incident and the motive remained under formal investigation. [22]

Update

A BBC News newspaper review, citing Metro, says two off-duty pilots took control of the Israel-bound flydubai aircraft after an altercation in the cockpit and landed it safely. Metro described one of them as British. [31]

The Independent reports that passenger Almog Itali described two relief pilots who were aboard to operate a later flight. He said they stabilised the aircraft and landed it in Saudi Arabia, and described one as British. [34]

Flydubai says crew travelling on flight FZ1073 secured the aircraft, diverted it to Tabuk and landed safely. The airline describes those crew members as on-duty, in contrast to Metro’s account of off-duty pilots. [32]

Flydubai has also announced a temporary suspension of flights to and from Israel while the investigation continues. It says the reasons for the cockpit incident remain unknown. [32]

Update

Passenger Almog Itali compared the sudden descent of flydubai flight FZ1073 to a “rollercoaster”, the BBC reported. Speaking to AFP, he said it felt like severe turbulence, although he believed there was none. He told the Associated Press that the strongest sensations lasted “20 or 30 seconds”. [37] [40] [2]

The BBC puts the altitude loss at 17,000ft (5,200m) in less than two minutes. CNN’s analysis describes a fall of 17,400ft in just over two minutes. Flightradar24 describes a sharp descent interrupted by a climb before a further descent. [37] [41] [38]

Flight FZ1073 was diverted from its Dubai-to-Tel Aviv route and landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, on 30 September. Flydubai says the reasons for the flight-deck altercation remain under investigation. [32]

Update

In a statement on 30 September, India’s embassy in Saudi Arabia identified Smit Machchhar as the injured Indian pilot aboard a flydubai flight diverted to Tabuk. BBC News identified him as the aircraft’s captain. [43] [42]

The flight was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when an altercation took place in the cockpit. Flydubai said crew travelling on the aircraft landed it safely at Tabuk airport. [32]

The embassy said Machchhar was receiving medical attention in a Tabuk hospital and was reported to be in a stable condition. It said a full update on his health was still awaited. [43]

Update

India’s embassy in Riyadh said on 30 September that Capt Smit Machchhar was receiving medical attention in a hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and had been reported stable. It said a fuller update on his health was awaited. The Times of Israel reported the embassy’s statement. [43]

Machchhar was wounded during an incident aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The airline says an altercation occurred in the cockpit before crew travelling on the aircraft diverted it to Tabuk and landed safely. It says the cause and motive remain under investigation. [32] [46]

The BBC reports that Machchhar grew up in Mumbai, joined the aviation college Mainland Air in New Zealand in 2008, became a SpiceJet pilot in 2011 and joined flydubai in 2022. [46]

Mainland Air chief executive Philip Kean told the BBC that Machchhar had trained for forced landings, though not for an incident of this kind. SpiceJet said he had worked for the airline for more than 10 years. [46] [51]

Update

Flight FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on 30 September when an altercation broke out in the flight deck. Flydubai said crew travelling on the aircraft secured it and landed safely at Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. It said all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for. [32]

Shota Musayev, a passenger described by the Associated Press as a dentist who treated the captain, told the agency that one pilot was stabbing another when passengers intervened. Another passenger told Israeli broadcaster N12 that she heard screams and saw blood when the cockpit was opened; she said passengers understood that a pilot had been stabbed. [56] [53]

The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said Captain Smit Machchhar was in hospital and reportedly stable, according to the Associated Press. UAE authorities have begun investigating the incident, including whether it had a terrorist purpose. Flydubai said the motive remained unknown. [56] [32]

Flydubai says it will review the suspension as more information becomes available. It has not given a date for flights to and from Israel to resume. [32]

Update

Adam Polovincik told BBC Newshour that he hugged his six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter tightly as their flydubai flight descended suddenly on 30 September. He said he tried to keep his face and voice calm for them. [58]

Polovincik recalled that, after about 10 to 15 minutes, a passenger in the cockpit told those on board that the situation was under control and other staff were flying the aircraft. [58]

Flydubai says an altercation occurred in the cockpit of flight FZ1073. The aircraft was diverted from its Dubai–Tel Aviv route and landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. [32]

Update

Tickets offered online for two planned El Al flights from Dubai to Israel sold out in about five minutes, Israeli news site Ynet reported. The one-way Lite tickets were priced at $249. The sales come after flydubai suspended flights to and from Israel following Wednesday’s cockpit emergency. [66] [32]

Arkia has also opened sales for flights from Friday 2 October, including Saturday services, with fares starting at $279. Israir is preparing two Friday flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv, with one-way tickets priced at $299. The planned flights require final security approval. [66] [65]

Ynet reported that passengers on the El Al and Arkia flights would be allowed a bag but not a wheeled cabin case, with suitcases sent separately by cargo flight. Israel’s transport ministry has also requested additional Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv. [66] [65]

Update

In a statement issued by his spokesperson on 30 September, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep concern about an incident involving a Tel Aviv-bound FlyDubai flight. He said he was relieved that tragedy had been averted and condemned any act that puts civilian lives or civil aviation safety at risk. [68]

Guterres thanked the authorities involved for keeping passengers safe and conducting an investigation. His spokesperson said the UN would continue to monitor developments. [68]

Captain Smit Machchhar told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video call that he was injured on the cockpit floor and still being attacked by his co-pilot when he noticed the aircraft descending. He said he made a final effort to open the door from inside, after which others entered and helped. [1]

The account adds detail to the emergency aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on 30 September. Saudi authorities say preliminary investigations indicate that the co-pilot attacked Machchhar, injuring both men. The flight, with 182 people aboard, landed safely in Tabuk. Flydubai credits on-duty crew travelling on the aircraft with securing it, diverting it and landing it. [4] [5]

Machchhar said he was fighting for his own life but did not want others to die, and acknowledged the help of those who entered the cockpit. Flydubai says the reasons behind the incident remain under investigation. [1] [4]

The UAE prosecutor general says the co-pilot on Flydubai flight FZ1073 attacked the captain with a crash axe and tried to take control of the aircraft during its 30 September flight to Tel Aviv. Reuters reports that he described it as an attempted terrorist attack. Investigators are still examining the motive and any possible connections to others. [7] [1]

An axe had been mentioned before the UAE account: CNN reported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s description of an axe attack on 1 October. A passenger told CNN through a translator that the attacker had a knife. It remains unclear how the two descriptions fit together. [4] [7]

Flightradar24 recorded a steep descent followed by sharp changes in altitude, along with general-emergency and unlawful-interference transponder codes. Flydubai says pilots travelling on the flight secured the aircraft and landed it in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, while cabin crew and passengers also assisted. [3] [2]

The Associated Press reports, citing two unnamed sources, that the co-pilot had previously been barred from flying in Oman over concerns about extremist views. Investigators are examining whether he acted alone or had links to extremist groups. [8]

US President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he had spoken at length with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the flydubai flight diverted to Saudi Arabia after an incident in its cockpit. [2] [4]

Trump suggested the alleged attacker was “perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack-job” and said he had stabbed a pilot. He also relayed an account in which a passenger described as a plumber helped subdue the attacker and pull the aircraft out of a dive. Trump said he had heard the story from Netanyahu and others, adding: “I don’t know if it’s true.” [3] [4]

Flydubai has described an altercation in the cockpit and said crew travelling aboard secured the aircraft and landed it safely in Tabuk. The airline said the reasons and motives remained under investigation. The UAE aviation authority said some crew members were injured and treated in hospital. [5] [6] [7]