‘Second 9/11 averted’: Israel suspects pilot tried to hijack flight to Tel Aviv in attempted terror attack

PELONI: Terror in midair averted by the courageous response by passengers seize control from a suspected terrorist.

Passengers fought and subdued one pilot after he stabbed the other pilot, attempted to crash plane

Hanan Lischinsky | All Israel News | Published: September 30, 2026

Flydubai Boeing 737-800 (A6-FDN) seen at Dubai International Airport. By Mohammadreza Farhadi Aref – Airliners.net, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

After a plane en route to Tel Aviv from Dubai sent an emergency signal before landing in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk, Israel is treating the incident as a suspected terror attack, while working on bringing the around 180 passengers home in an air force plane.

A senior Israeli official told Channel 12 that “the most severe disaster was prevented” and that authorities are investigating growing indications that one pilot tried to stab his colleague with a knife and take over the plane in order to crash it.

Initial reports suggest that passengers intervened to subdue the pilot, while a second flight crew that was on board helped to land the plane.

“Following concerns over an aviation incident, Prime Minister Netanyahu held consultations on the matter and is monitoring developments. The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated.

On Wednesday morning, a flydubai flight sent out a “squawk code” of 7700, which is an international emergency signal, while turning around in the northern Saudi desert before disappearing from flight radars.

Israeli media reported later that the plane suddenly plunged about 4,200 meters (14,000 feet) within one minute, causing it to disappear from the radars.

The Israeli Air Force scrambled jets toward the plane; however, it landed safely in a Saudi Arabian airport. First reports had suggested that a violent altercation between the pilots was the reason for the incident, without any indications of a terror attack.

However, after the plane landed, first testimonies from passengers, as well as pictures showing some of them with blood-soaked clothes began to emerge.

https://twitter.com/Tamir114/status/2105224176944468013

Speaking with i24 News, an Israeli source said that one pilot stabbed the other while trying to hijack the plane. “A struggle begins on the aircraft, and during it, it plunges 4,000 meters. The Israelis take control of him; there was another crew of pilots that assisted in taking control.”

“It is unclear what the pilot was trying to do – whether to hijack it to Israel, whether to crash it into the ground, or whether to carry out a 9/11-style attack. What is clear – he wanted to hijack the aircraft,” the source said.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, a passenger said that Israeli passengers rushed to help the attacked pilot and fought the attacker as the plane was diving. Pilots from the off-duty flight crew didn’t react immediately: “I shouted at them to run and take control of the plane,” the passenger said.

The stabbed pilot was seriously wounded and an Israeli dentist on board treated him and saved his life, the passenger added.

Walla News cited a senior military source saying that “It appears that the pilot is of Omani origin. It also appears, and is still being investigated, that he attempted to commit suicide with the aircraft; it is unclear whether this was against a psychological or nationalist background.”

The military source told Walla that “the resourcefulness of the crew members” as well as Israeli passengers assisted to avert a disaster. Other reports said that a second, off-duty flight crew was on board and helped land the plane after the altercation.

“This is the great stroke of luck for this flight; otherwise, we would be in an incident taken from September 2001 or July 1976,” a senior official told Channel 12.

Pictures taken after the landing showed the Boeing 737 MAX plane with damage to its rear rudder. Arik Zer, a former Shin Bet head of flight security, told Channel 12 that the damage was most likely not caused by an attack, but rather most likely a result of the rapid dive the plan went through.

There was no immediate indication of who was responsible for the potential terror attack.

However, a senior Israeli security official told i24 News that Israel investigating possible Iranian involvement: “If it turns out that Iran is behind the incident, it will pay dearly for it,” the official said, adding that “a disaster was averted here that could have become Israel’s 9/11.”

Walla also reported that IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir conducted a high-level situation assessment to determine whether the air force will send a Hercules aircraft to Saudi Arabia to bring the passengers home.

The Air Force reportedly raised its level of readiness following the incident, and defense establishment officials expressed concern over the danger of copycat attacks in the near future, Channel 12 reported.

Just hours earlier on Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned that Israel’s enemies could try to attack the country ahead of the elections, which are scheduled at the end of October.

Ynet News reported Wednesday that even before Netanyahu’s warning, Zamir decided to cancel a planned visit to the U.S. against the backdrop of the heightened state of alert in the IDF. “You can’t put the army on high alert and fly abroad,” a senior IDF official said.

Speaking to Walla, a security source also noted that “It is especially important to emphasize today the insistence of the head of the Shin Bet, David Zini, who stood firm on the position that Israeli airlines should not fly to and land in the United Arab Emirates, and how much pressure was put on him to approve it, but he did not give in to the pressure because he understood the dangers.”

Zini recently insisted on extending a ban on flights to Dubai for Israeli airlines through November, citing security concerns. Non-Israeli airlines, like the Emirati flydubai, were not impacted by the decision and continue to fly between Tel Aviv and the Emirates.