New details are emerging about the thriller on the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv, with Benjamin Netanyahu stating that the passengers’ intervention “prevented another 9/11.” The injured pilot is in stable condition in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, the co-pilot who allegedly stabbed him remains in custody and his motives are under investigation, while Flydubai has suspended flights to and from Israel.
Meanwhile, accounts from those on board the aircraft describe the dramatic moments in the cockpit, the sudden loss of altitude, and the intervention of passengers who managed to subdue the assailant and avert disaster.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
SEE ALSO: “He’s a hero”: Meet the Indian flydubai pilot who was stabbed by the co-pilot
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has characterized the incident as an attempted terrorist attack that also targeted Israel’s relations with the United Arab Emirates.
The pilot, Schmidt Matsar, is being treated in the city of Tabuk, where the aircraft made an emergency landing following the dramatic incident.
Pilot in Stable Condition
The Indian Embassy in Riyadh announced that Matsar is receiving the necessary medical care and that, according to the latest update, his condition is stable.
“Our embassy in Riyadh and our consulate in Jeddah are monitoring the health condition of Mr. Schmidt Macher, the brave Indian pilot of the Flydubai flight that was diverted to Tabuk,” it said in a statement.
Indian diplomatic authorities are in contact with his family and the Saudi Arabian authorities, assuring them that they will continue to provide every possible support.
READ ALSO: “We’ve just neutralized the hijacker! He tried to crash the plane”: Shocking video of a passenger on the flight to Tel Aviv
The pilot who was stabbed on flydubai flight FZ 1073—and who helped prevent its hijacking by the co-pilot—is Indian Captain Smit Machchhar, who is based in Dubai, not an Emirati pilot as originally described by Israeli officials. https://t.co/dpr1SKkQJW pic.twitter.com/GgsyMxS2wY
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) September 30, 2026
Netanyahu: “He saved lives—he is a true hero”
Benjamin Netanyahu publicly praised the pilot’s courage, noting that, despite his serious injury, he managed to fight off the attacker and open the cockpit door.
“I commend Indian pilot Schmidt Machar for his unparalleled courage. Although he was stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and allowed passengers and crew to subdue the attacker, preventing an aviation tragedy,” wrote the Israeli prime minister on Twitter.
READ ALSO: “He prayed constantly and refused to shake hands with women”: The profile of the co-pilot who tried to crash the flydubai plane
Yaniv, you’re a true hero. We are a nation of lions! pic.twitter.com/55AgmAvzIG
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 30, 2026
According to Netanyahu, the co-pilot “saved the lives of 174 people,” including Israeli citizens.
“Captain Schmidt Matschar fought back after being attacked with a knife in the cockpit. Despite being seriously injured, he managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing Israeli passengers and the crew from the United Arab Emirates to intervene and save all the passengers. Together, their extraordinary courage saved 174 lives. Indian. Israelis. Emiratis. Different nationalities. An extraordinary act of courage,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated in its own announcement.
This man is a hero.
AdvertisementCaptain Smit Machchhar, the Indian captain of flydubai Flight 1073, fought back after being stabbed in the cockpit.
Despite being severely injured, he managed to unlock the cockpit door—allowing Israeli passengers and the Emirati crew to intervene and save… pic.twitter.com/x4W3mtQkag
Advertisement— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 30, 2026
Netanyahu: “They prevented another 9/11”
In new remarks to Fox News, Benjamin Netanyahu revealed details from his meeting with Yaniv Hayun, the Israeli passenger who subdued the attacker on the Flydubai flight.
“That is truly tremendous courage, which prevented another 9/11,” the Israeli prime minister told Sean Hannity.
Netanyahu noted that, during their meeting, he asked Hayoun what he did for a living. “I asked him, ‘What do you do for a living?’ and he replied, ‘I’m a plumber!’” he said.
SEE ALSO: Thriller on Flight FZ1073 to Tel Aviv: The suspect pilot who tried to crash the plane is from Oman
The Israeli prime minister described his intervention as “an amazing act of heroism,” adding that the passengers who intervened “prevented a catastrophe that could have had global implications.”
EXCLUSIVE: Israeli PM @netanyahu shares with @seanhannity details of his meeting with the hero Yaniv Hayun, who subdued the attacker on the Flydubai flight:
“That is just tremendous courage that prevented another 9/11.” I asked him, 'So what do you do for a living?' And he… pic.twitter.com/xp4swGX8H1
Advertisement— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 1, 2026
Flydubai Suspends Flights to and from Israel
Following the incident, Flydubai announced that it is temporarily suspending all flights to and from Israel until the investigation into the incident is complete.
The company has confirmed that there was a “scuffle in the cockpit” and that Flydubai crew members traveling on the flight managed to secure the aircraft and land it at Tabuk Airport.
Two replacement aircraft were sent to Saudi Arabia for the passengers and crew. The repatriation flight departed from Tabuk at 5:40 p.m. local time and arrived in Tel Aviv about an hour later.
WATCH: Flydubai flight lands safely at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport carrying the passengers from the hijacked flight. pic.twitter.com/FKB1syHcHK
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) September 30, 2026
The airline stated that its priority is the safety and well-being of passengers and crew members, as well as supporting the official investigation.
Israel: “The Abraham Accords Are the Goal”
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs went a step further in its assessment of the incident.
The ministry’s director general, Eden Bar Tal, during an online briefing for Israeli ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions, characterized the incident as an “attempted terrorist attack” targeting “Israelis, the United Arab Emirates, and the Abraham Accords.”
The United Arab Emirates is one of the few Arab countries that maintains official diplomatic relations with Israel, following the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, during Donald Trump’s first presidential term.
The co-pilot’s exact motives, however, remain the subject of an official investigation.
What the passengers say: “He was trying to destroy the instruments”
New details have also emerged from passenger testimonies.
Yaniv Hayun, whom Netanyahu welcomed and called a hero, stated that he and other passengers were trying to open the cockpit door, while the injured captain was standing very close to it.
Before collapsing, he managed to open the door, according to Hayoun.
Upon entering the cockpit, as he described, he saw the perpetrator “trying to destroy the instruments to render the plane inoperable.”
#WATCH: Israeli passengers rush the cockpit to rescue their Flydubai flight after the copilot attempted to hijack it. pic.twitter.com/rs9L3EzL2B
— Israel National News – Arutz Sheva (@ArutzSheva_En) September 30, 2026
Hayoun said the man grabbed him by the throat and dragged him out of the cockpit, where other passengers helped subdue him.
He also claimed that, as the aircraft was descending, he pulled back on the controls and helped stabilize the plane before another pilot took over.
When Netanyahu asked him how he knew what to do, he replied that he watches the documentary series *Air Crash Investigation*.
One of the Israeli passengers who subdued the pilot-hijacker on board flydubai flight FZ 1073 told Prime Minister Netanyahu that the stabbed captain managed to open the cockpit door before collapsing. This enabled the passengers to enter and subdue the attacker, as he was attempting to destroy the… pic.twitter.com/TuOiAGBWy9
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) September 30, 2026
They tied up the attacker with zip ties and headphones
Another passenger, Zvika Menes, told Israel’s Kan News that the passengers tied up the attacker “with his own zip ties and the headphones from the in-flight entertainment system.”
“There are children and families here who went through an extremely serious and very traumatic event,” he said.
Yasmin Abukasis, the mother of a passenger, said her daughter described a man with a knife who had knocked one of the pilots to the floor, while there was blood in the cockpit.
“The plane started to lose control. Everyone was screaming; they thought they were going to die,” she said.
Another passenger described the moment it became clear that the plane was losing altitude as “very stressful,” saying that many believed the pilots had lost control.
“There were people here with their shirts covered in blood,” she said.
Information about the co-pilot
A pilot who spoke to Israel’s Channel 16 reported that the co-pilot was an Omani national and had been hired by the company about eight months earlier.
He claimed that the man “prayed excessively throughout the day and refused to shake hands with women.”
These specific reports constitute third-party testimony and have not been presented as an official conclusion regarding the perpetrator’s motives.
Trump and the Conversation with Netanyahu
Donald Trump also commented on the incident, revealing that he had spoken “at length” with Netanyahu.
“It appears that the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps someone mentally unstable who stabbed the captain,” he said.
BREAKING: President Trump says the co-pilot who allegedly stabbed the captain of a Flydubai jet bound for Israel was “perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job.”
Trump says the badly wounded captain still managed to open the cockpit door and scream for help.
In a way, he was a… pic.twitter.com/osmdBm0tSp
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 30, 2026
The U.S. president also described the intervention of the Israeli passenger who entered the cockpit, claiming that he was a plumber with no flying experience and that he managed to temporarily stabilize the aircraft.
Trump, however, made it clear that he was relaying what he had been told and not independently verified facts.
“That’s the story I heard. I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s the story that Bibi and some primary sources relayed to me,” he said.
The Timeline
Flydubai Flight FZ1073 had departed from Dubai bound for Tel Aviv when the serious incident occurred in the cockpit.
Commotion ensued in the cabin, while the aircraft lost altitude and the passengers realized there was a serious problem.
After the co-pilot was incapacitated, other pilots on board took control and arranged for the flight to be diverted.
Meanwhile, Israeli and Saudi fighter jets were scrambled, while Benjamin Netanyahu held emergency consultations regarding the unfolding situation.
The aircraft was eventually directed to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.
The injured pilot was taken to a hospital, while the co-pilot was taken into custody. The investigation is ongoing to fully clarify the circumstances and motives behind the attack.
Source: Proto Thema
