Panic aboard flight FZ1073 to Tel Aviv: ‘We’ve just neutralized the terrorist. We need help’

It was 8.22 a.m. on Wednesday when, aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073 between Dubai and Tel Aviv, the aircraft suddenly lost altitude, began jerking violently and a woman in the front started screaming. “They’re killing him, they’re killing him!” Many of the 174 passengers wondered what had provoked that hysterical outburst, since it initially seemed to be nothing more than severe turbulence.

A few minutes later they understood that the woman had probably saved their lives when, upon leaving the lavatory, she saw the cockpit door open and one of the pilots stabbing the other.

What followed happened very quickly and felt like a scene from a horror film. The plane dropped about 6,000 meters in two minutes. “We realized something very bad was going to happen, but we thought it was a mechanical failure. I looked up and there was no electricity on the plane,” said Adi Ido, one of the passengers, after landing on Wednesday afternoon in Tel Aviv.

Passengers reacted quickly and several ran into the cockpit, where they managed to subdue the attacker. Shota Musaieb and another Israeli passenger bound his hands with the first thing they found: a pair of headphone cables. “Then they brought us plastic handcuffs and we put them on. The terrorist didn’t shout. He was silent while we tied his hands,” he recalled on Wednesday night after landing in Tel Aviv.

“Attempted jihadist terror attack”

Musaieb — the only doctor on the plane — treated the wounded pilot, an Indian national who had lost a lot of blood. “He had stab wounds to his face. I really thought we were going to lose him; his pulse was very weak. That is why we landed in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an “attempted jihadist terror attack” and said one of the pilots tried to take control with “one intention: to crash the plane with all its passengers.” The hijacker was prevented “thanks to the bravery of several Israeli passengers who broke into the cockpit, overpowered the terrorist and, with their own hands, restored control of the plane to another flight crew who was present there,” Katz said in a statement.

The plane first issued a general emergency alert (code 7700) and then switched it to 7500, a very uncommon signal used in hijacking cases. When the aircraft briefly disappeared from flight-tracking websites, fears of a hijacking increased. Once the attacker had been neutralized, the plane turned around and landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk, in northwest Saudi Arabia.

Some travelers suffered minor injuries and posted the first, bloodstained videos describing what had happened after they regained coverage and were able to buy eSIM cards. “We’re here on a flight and we’ve just neutralized the terrorist. To anyone who can hear me: we need help. Everyone on the plane is safe except the pilot,” one of them said.

Another pilot took control of the aircraft. The Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post explained why there were four pilots on board. Given the instability in the region, two extra pilots were scheduled because a diversion could lengthen the journey and cause the original crew to exceed allowed duty hours.

Both pilots remain hospitalized. The Embassy of India in Saudi Arabia identified the stabbed pilot as Smit Machchhar and said he is “stable,” awaiting a full update on his condition. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him a “true hero.” The injured pilot lives in Dubai and has 13 years of professional experience.

Almost a day after the incident, the attacker’s motives were still officially unknown; Israeli media said he was Omani. After speaking with Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump said the man was “perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job.” “They said [the pilot] wanted to crash. They don’t know that. They don’t know that kind of information,” he added. Israeli authorities’ initial impression is that he acted on his own initiative, without orders from any organization or state, according to Channel 12. While interrogations continue in Saudi Arabia, Israeli media reported one detail: he had been working for Flydubai for only eight months.

The United Arab Emirates (from where the plane departed and which owns the airline that operated it) described it as an “incident with injuries” that is under investigation. Saudi Arabia, where the passengers landed, has not issued an official statement.

The UAE is among the Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel during Trump’s first term. That explains the existence of direct flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv.

Late on Wednesday Flydubai announced the suspension of the very popular Dubai–Tel Aviv route while the investigation continues. “This temporary suspension will allow the relevant authorities to continue their work and establish all the facts surrounding the incident [...] We are fully committed to supporting the ongoing investigation and maintaining the highest safety standards across our network,” the airline said. Israel’s flag carrier, El Al (whose share price rose up to 5% after the incident came to light), said it was preparing to resume the Tel Aviv–Dubai route in November.

For now, Israel plans to tighten security checks for pilots flying to the country. At Tel Aviv airport, additional security measures beyond the already strict routine could be seen late Wednesday.

The incident has revived memories in Israel of earlier hijacking attempts (most of them unsuccessful) of aircraft bound for the country, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. The only successful one occurred in 1968 on a Rome–Tel Aviv flight hijacked by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who initially demanded the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails in exchange for the hostages. The hijacking lasted 40 days and ended with the release of 16 Palestinian prisoners, a move Israel described as a “humanitarian gesture.”

In 1976, an Air France plane flying from Tel Aviv to Paris was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and later diverted to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. In the rescue operation, which holds mythical status in Israel, the hijackers were killed, along with four passengers and a single Israeli soldier: Yoni Netanyahu, brother of the current prime minister.

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