The flydubai FZ1073 incident and the alleged attempt to down the plane

⏱️ Timeline

1. 1 Oct 2026, 09:35 Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Israel's political-security cabinet will meet at 7 p.m. over the attempted attack on a flydubai flight, and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will brief ministers on the latest developments in the investigation, with another government meeting on Tuesday. The cabinet discussed the incident, and Netanyahu said Iranian collusion could not be confirmed.
2. 1 Oct 2026, 13:16 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was too early to determine whether Iran was involved in the attack on the flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, noting that Israel might take part in the investigation at the UAE's request, and that he spoke after the incident with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, who immediately agreed to allow Israel to participate in the investigation. He also said it would be determined within days whether the co-pilot had a link to Iran.
3. 1 Oct 2026, 16:14 In an interview with CNN, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that there had been no specific security warning about a flydubai hijacking scenario, while a senior Israeli security official said there was not even "a shred of information" about an intent to hijack or down a plane. This comes amid a dispute between Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid over the security warnings presented to the latter before the incident.
4. 1 Oct 2026, 18:11 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed new details about the co-pilot, saying he had undergone "extremist ideological indoctrination" and that it was "clear he was a suicide bomber". He warned of a possible repeat incident, claiming there were indications that Iran and its proxies are trying to carry out attacks against Israel during the election season, and pointing to a gap in the pilot screening mechanism. He said the attacker was radicalized over the past year according to information from the ongoing investigation in Saudi Arabia, that the co-pilot acted alone out of national motives, and that indications were growing that Iran was not behind the incident without final confirmation, while Mossad chief Roman Gofman leads contacts on the Israeli side.
5. 1 Oct 2026, 21:14 The Saudi Interior Ministry stressed that the Kingdom handles emergency cases in accordance with its international and humanitarian obligations, within the framework of the investigations into the stabbing of the flydubai captain by his co-pilot. It said the initial investigations were conducted with UAE participation, that the captain and co-pilot left the Kingdom for Abu Dhabi, and that all 174 passengers were transferred to their final destination.
6. 2 Oct 2026, 02:55 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that any party proven involved in the flydubai plane incident would pay a "very heavy price", while US President Donald Trump said Iran would get a "very strong blow" if its involvement were proven. UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash described the incident as a "serious terrorist act", and Indian captain Smeet Machar recounted details of his injury and of opening the cockpit door to save the passengers.
7. 2 Oct 2026, 22:23 A report by Israel's Channel 12 revealed new details about the Omani co-pilot suspected of trying to down the flydubai flight to Tel Aviv, who according to Israeli assessments underwent a covert radicalization path over the past year. The suspect stabbed the Indian captain and tried to put the plane into a steep descent before passengers overpowered him. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel are investigating, amid disagreement over a link to Iran, while Netanyahu acknowledged a security flaw that allowed it.
8. 3 Oct 2026, 10:32 Israel's Channel 13, citing ABC, revealed new details about the Omani pilot Hammam Al-Hammami, 29, who was found in possession of extremist material while working as a trainee pilot at Oman Air in 2024, leading to his suspension from flying and transfer to administrative jobs. Investigators are still trying to understand how he was allowed to work at flydubai as a co-pilot on a route to Israel, and Al-Hammami is cooperating with investigators.
9. 3 Oct 2026, 22:24 Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that Israeli authorities had received in advance the passenger and crew lists of the flydubai flight in which an Omani co-pilot tried to down the plane, though it remains unclear whether this data was subjected to a security check before takeoff. Israel's Channel 12 reported that Israeli authorities and the internal security service are examining the possibility that pilots holding Iranian, Syrian and Iraqi nationalities landed at Ben Gurion airport in recent years, and that Israel received lists of pilots' names from flydubai but they were not given the required security check.
10. 4 Oct 2026, 15:55 The Associated Press, citing regional officials, reported that UAE authorities had provided Israel in advance with the names of the flydubai flight's passengers and crew members before its departure from Dubai toward Tel Aviv, without Israel raising any security reservation about any of them. The UAE Public Prosecution announced that investigations showed the co-pilot began carrying out what it described as a "terrorist act", after the emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.
11. 4 Oct 2026, 18:40 Iran denied any link to the flydubai plane incident and accused Israel of fabricating evidence related to it.
12. 4 Oct 2026, 20:06 The Hebrew page Nitzan Shapira reported that information available in Israel, and according to the investigation underway in the UAE, indicates that Omani pilot Hammam Al-Hammami had visited Ben Gurion airport in recent months during his flights, and that he dedicated a visit in June to gathering intelligence and preparing for an operation he intended to carry out, while in July he flew a flight to Israel during which he planned to down the plane inside Israeli territory. Israel's Channel 14, citing parties familiar with the investigation, reported that Al-Hammami planned to seize the plane and deliberately crash it into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion airport, and that he chose to attack the Indian captain with an axe while the plane was in Jordanian airspace near the border with Israel, before the captain managed to foil the plot despite being wounded.
13. 5 Oct 2026, 14:17 The investigation with Omani co-pilot Hammam Al-Hammami, accused of trying to seize the flydubai flight bound for Israel, entered a more sensitive phase after his handover to the UAE, amid reports that the prosecution is moving to seek the death penalty against him. New details revealed that Al-Hammami, 29, planned the operation before joining the company and placed Ben Gurion airport and the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv among possible targets, while an Israeli team is taking part in the investigation.
14. 5 Oct 2026, 18:43 US Vice President JD Vance said he had not seen conclusive findings linking Iran to the attempted attack aboard the flydubai flight, noting that Washington is reviewing its security procedures. In contrast, Yesh Atid leader Gadi Eisenkot criticized Israel's handling of the investigation file and demanded a serious investigation and the resignation of the transport minister, as investigations into the background of the Omani co-pilot continue.
15. 5 Oct 2026, 20:51 The Hebrew page Doron Kadosh reported that representatives of Israel's Shin Bet traveled to the United Arab Emirates with the approval of security bodies and are taking part in the investigation with the Omani pilot. Israel's Channel 12, citing sources, reported that the Shin Bet interrogated the co-pilot, who said during it that his motive was "revenge for Gaza". The incident had occurred aboard flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on 30 September, when the co-pilot attacked the captain using the "emergency axe".

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