UAE: Flydubai Co-Pilot Attempted Terrorist Act, Israel Repatriation Flights

The United Arab Emirates' investigation into the incident aboard Flydubai flight FZ1 from Dubai to Tel Aviv has concluded that the co-pilot attempted to commit a terrorist act. The man, an Omani national, attacked the captain with an emergency axe in an attempt to take control of the aircraft, according to the UAE's attorney general. The attack caused a sudden altitude drop of approximately 5,200 meters before passengers, who intervened after the injured captain managed to open the cockpit door, subdued the assailant.

Following the incident, Flydubai suspended all services to and from Israel. To repatriate Israeli citizens stranded in Dubai, Israeli authorities organized rescue flights. The first of these flights landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport on Saturday morning. The aircraft's captain, an Indian national, was hospitalized in stable condition after being stabbed in the attack.

The incident occurred on October 3, 2026, aboard a commercial flight operated by the Emirati low-cost airline Flydubai, en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Approximately two and a half hours after takeoff, the co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe, a standard tool kept in the cockpit for emergency purposes. The plane began to descend, rapidly losing altitude.

The alarm in the passenger cabin was raised by an Israeli woman who heard a commotion. Her husband and three other passengers intervened after the captain, despite his injuries, managed to open the reinforced cockpit door from the inside. The passengers subdued the assailant, tying him up, and one of them temporarily took control of the aircraft's controls to stabilize its trajectory before another crew member could resume command. Emirati authorities are investigating to determine whether the act had terrorist motivations, as also speculated by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who spoke of an attempt to "crash the plane with all the passengers on board" by a radicalized individual.