TEL AVIV, October 1, 2026 — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday it was “too early to say” who was behind the foiled attempt to crash a flydubai passenger flight bound for Tel Aviv, as a multi-country investigation gathered pace following the aircraft’s emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu made the comments in an interview with Fox News, where he was pressed on whether there were any indications of Iranian involvement in the attempted attack aboard flydubai flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
“Too early to say”
“The attacking pilot is now being investigated in Saudi Arabia,” Netanyahu said, according to the network. “I think he’ll be taken to the Emirates, where he comes from — or at least where he flew off from — and we’ll be following and possibly also participating in this investigation.”
The prime minister said Israeli intelligence had information that Iran’s proxies were planning attacks against Israelis, including Hamas and Hezbollah, but added there had been no specific warning of an attack of this kind. “It’s no secret that Iran wants to target Israelis abroad,” he said, adding, “I think we’ll find out very soon.”
Hero captain praised
Netanyahu singled out for praise Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who was stabbed by his co-pilot during the cockpit assault but fought back and helped secure the aircraft.
“Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker,” Netanyahu said in a message posted on X, calling the captain’s actions extraordinary bravery. Indian officials have said the captain is in a stable condition in a hospital in Tabuk.
What happened on FZ1073
The flydubai Boeing 737 was operating flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Tuesday when a violent altercation broke out on the flight deck as the aircraft approached its destination, the airline said.
According to officials, the co-pilot stabbed the captain and then attempted to bring the aircraft down. Passengers and crew forced their way into the cockpit and overpowered the attacker, while a second pair of flydubai pilots who happened to be travelling on the flight landed the jet safely at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s aviation authorities said the flight, carrying 180 people, transmitted an emergency signal before landing safely. The detained co-pilot remains in Saudi custody, and the kingdom has declined an Israeli request to send military aircraft to retrieve Israeli passengers.
Region on edge
The incident has rattled regional aviation. flydubai has suspended all flights to and from Israel while the investigation continues, and the UAE’s civil aviation authority confirmed that crew members were injured in the fight on the flight deck.
Netanyahu said Israel would get to the bottom of the attack, including whether the detained pilot had accomplices. The probe now spans Saudi Arabia, the UAE and potentially Israel, in a case that has become one of the most serious aviation security incidents in the region in years.
