An attempted crash was thwarted aboard commercial flight FZ1073 on Wednesday after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain during a mid-air cockpit struggle.

The Flydubai Boeing 737 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 people on board when the plane made a rapid descent, plunging nearly 5000 metres in about 30 seconds.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot “apparently” attempted to crash the aircraft after stabbing the captain.

“During the flight, as they were approaching Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and apparently, tried to crash the plane,” he said.

The injured captain, identified as Indian national Smit Machchhar, managed to open the cockpit door before passengers and crew rushed forward and restrained the co-pilot, according to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu praised Machchhar in a post on X, describing him as a “true hero”.

My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery.

Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air…

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 30, 2026

He said the aircraft went into a spin and began to descend before other Flydubai crew members, who were travelling on the flight, entered the cockpit and stabilised the plane.

Flydubai said the aircraft was “successfully secured by on-duty Flydubai crew travelling on the flight”.

The aircraft was then diverted to Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.

“The pilot who carried out the stabbing was arrested and is currently being questioned by the Saudi authorities,” Netanyahu said.

Flydubai said all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for, while the circumstances surrounding the altercation remain under investigation.

Passengers later continued their journey to Tel Aviv on a replacement flight.

Photo: By Mohammadreza Farhadi Aref found HERE is used under a Creative Commons License. This image has not been modified.