📰 3 sources 11 articles · 30 Sep 2026, 19:18 → 14 days ago

Attempt to down a Flydubai flight from Dubai; suspect co-pilot transferred to the UAE

A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Israel witnessed a security incident in which the co-pilot, according to Israeli accounts, tried to seize the plane and bring it down before passengers intervened and foiled the attempt. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received the passengers at Ben Gurion Airport, Israel decided to suspend Flydubai flights, and the Omani suspect co-pilot was transferred to the UAE for interrogation, where an Israeli investigation team is now present.

📍 Where things stand: The Israeli investigation team tasked with the incident is currently in the United Arab Emirates, after the suspect co-pilot was transferred there, amid an Israeli decision to suspend Flydubai flights.

⏱️ Timeline

30 Sep 2026, 19:18 A Hebrew news site reported that one of the civilians who happened to be aboard the plane and took over its controls was an Israeli fighter pilot, without providing further details about the person's identity, the location or the time of the incident.
30 Sep 2026, 19:45 Channel 7 Hebrew reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at Ben Gurion Airport with Yaniv Shvarats, who stormed the cockpit aboard a flight coming from Dubai to Israel.
30 Sep 2026, 20:49 Israeli passenger Yaniv Ohion, who helped subdue the pilot suspected of trying to seize the flight coming from Dubai, revealed details of the dramatic moments inside the cockpit during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the passengers who helped subdue the pilot. He said he found one of the pilots injured near the cockpit door and the suspect over the instruments between the two pilot seats, and that he grabbed the suspect and took him out of the cockpit.
1 Oct 2026, 00:25 The Hebrew page Daphne Liel quoted Donald Trump as saying he had spoken at length with Netanyahu, that the co-pilot was "a terrorist or crazy", and that he stabbed the pilot who managed to open the door through his bravery, while an Israeli plumber who had never flown a plane took the control stick, stabilized the plane and prevented it from crashing.
1 Oct 2026, 00:25 A Hebrew page called "Yanon Magal" published a post describing new and dramatic documentation showing a Haredi pilot taking over the controls of the plane and saving it; the post did not include additional details about the location or time of the incident, or the company or flight concerned.
1 Oct 2026, 10:05 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received at Ben Gurion Airport the Israelis brought back by a substitute Flydubai plane after a security incident aboard one of the company's flights. Netanyahu said a "big disaster" was prevented and that the co-pilot wanted to bring down the plane, while the Defense Minister described the incident as a jihadist attack. Israeli sources said one of the passengers, a war pilot, took control of the attacker and prevented the plane from crashing, and Israel decided to suspend Flydubai flights.
1 Oct 2026, 11:38 Yedioth Ahronoth reported that a senior Israeli official estimated that the Omani co-pilot suspected of trying to down a Flydubai plane would be transferred to the United Arab Emirates for interrogation, after the flight took off from the UAE to Ben Gurion Airport before its route was diverted to Saudi Arabia. The newspaper noted that transferring the suspect to the UAE is of great importance to Israel given its open relations with Abu Dhabi.
1 Oct 2026, 23:30 The Hebrew page Yaron Avraham quoted an Israeli official as saying that the co-pilot had been transferred to the United Arab Emirates, and that Israeli teams would be asked to head there as soon as possible next week.
3 Oct 2026, 19:08 i24 Hebrew channel reported that the Israeli investigation team tasked with investigating the plane attack is currently present in the United Arab Emirates.

Timeline written by AI from the sources below; updated as new reports arrive.

⚠️ Sources disagree

Who took over the controls of the plane

"one of the passengers, a war pilot, took control of the attacker and prevented the plane from crashing" according to مونت كارلو الدولية
"an Israeli plumber who had never flown a plane" took the control stick, stabilized the plane and prevented it from crashing (quoting Donald Trump) according to المترجم احمد المقادمة

The suspect's role: pilot or co-pilot

"the pilot suspected of trying to seize the flight coming from Dubai" according to Lebanon Debate
"the Omani co-pilot suspected of trying to down a Flydubai plane" according to المترجم احمد المقادمة

Figures as each outlet reported them at the time. We do not judge which is correct; numbers often change as events develop.

How the sources covered it

Coverage varied between following what Hebrew media outlets published about the incident, the suspect and his transfer to the UAE, recounting the passenger's account of the cockpit moments, and focusing on the official reception, Israeli statements and the decision to suspend flights.

المترجم احمد المقادمة Its items covered what Hebrew outlets and pages published (Channel 7, Daphne Liel, Yedioth Ahronoth, Yaron Avraham, Yanon Magal, i24), leading with reports about the fighter pilot and Netanyahu's meeting with Yaniv Shvarats at Ben Gurion, then with remarks attributed to Donald Trump, and finally the transfer of the Omani co-pilot to the UAE and the presence of the Israeli investigation team there.
Lebanon Debate It focused on the first-hand account of Israeli passenger Yaniv Ohion, relaying details of what happened inside the cockpit: finding one of the pilots injured near the door, the suspect being over the instruments between the two pilot seats, and grabbing him and taking him out of the cockpit, in the context of his meeting with Netanyahu.
مونت كارلو الدولية It led with Netanyahu's reception at Ben Gurion Airport of the passengers brought back by a substitute Flydubai plane, highlighting his statements that a "big disaster" was prevented and that the co-pilot wanted to bring down the plane, the Defense Minister's description of the incident as a jihadist attack, and noting the Israeli sources' account of a war pilot who took control of the attacker and the decision to suspend the company's flights.

AI comparison of what each outlet emphasized. It describes emphasis, not accuracy.

المترجم احمد المقادمةLebanon Debateمونت كارلو الدولية