UAE investigates possible ‘terrorist’ link in attack on flight to Israel

Investigators will probe whether the incident was linked to any ‘terrorist activity or intent’, UAE state media reports.

What happened on diverted Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv?

The United Arab Emirates’ chief prosecutor has launched an investigation into the cockpit fight on board a Flydubai flight to Israel , which forced the plane to be diverted and land in Saudi Arabia.

Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi has formed a team of public prosecutors to investigate the midair altercation between the two pilots on board Flydubai flight FZ1073, Emirati state news agency WAM reported on Thursday.

list 1 of 3 Pilot stabbed another in bid to crash Israel-bound Flydubai jet: Netanyahu

list 2 of 3 Netanyahu calls stabbed Indian pilot a hero; Flydubai halts Israel flights

list 3 of 3 Flydubai FZ1073 timeline: How the Israel-bound flight emergency unfolded

The flight was travelling from Dubai International Airport to Tel Aviv on Wednesday before being diverted and landing safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.

Investigators will examine the circumstances and motives behind the incident, and whether it was linked to any “terrorist activity or intent” or involved prior planning or direction, WAM reported.

Al Shamsi said UAE judicial authorities have jurisdiction over the incident because the aircraft is registered in the UAE and flies under its flag, adding that UAE law applies to crimes committed on board “even if they occur outside the country’s territory”.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he spoke with the UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who agreed that Israel would “join the interrogation” of the suspect.

Passengers who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, during a flight on a Flydubai plane, arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 [Ariel Schalit/AP]

Netanyahu has credited the Flydubai pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, as well as passengers, with averting catastrophe, after a co-pilot allegedly stabbed him and tried to crash the plane.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs said Captain Machchhar has been moved to Abu Dhabi for continued treatment after initial care at a hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. India’s ambassador to the UAE paid a visit to the captain and his family.

Israeli passengers on the aircraft carrying 174 people described how the injured Indian captain managed to open the cockpit door to let them in before they wrestled with the co-pilot and stabilised the plane during a descent so sharp that the rudder of the jet was ripped off.

“We felt helpless, suspended in midair, and I didn’t know who to turn to. But it was all instinct to survive,” one of the responders, Asaf Rajuan, said in a new statement shared by Israel’s presidency.

Israel’s foreign ministry said the people on board were from Israel, India and the UAE. The US State Department said four passengers had US citizenship.

Flydubai has said its flights to and from Israel would be suspended.

据阿联酋国家媒体报道，调查人员将调查该事件是否与任何“恐怖活动或意图”有关。

迪拜航空从迪拜飞往特拉维夫的航班改道后发生了什么？

阿联酋首席检察官已对迪拜航空飞往以色列的航班上发生的驾驶舱斗殴事件展开调查，该事件迫使飞机改道降落在沙特阿拉伯。

据阿联酋国家通讯社WAM周四报道，总检察长哈马德·赛义夫·沙姆西已组建一个公诉小组，调查迪拜航空FZ1073航班上两名飞行员在空中发生的争执。

列表 1/3：内塔尼亚胡称，一名飞行员为试图撞毁飞往以色列的迪拜航空客机，刺伤了另一名飞行员。

列表 2/3：内塔尼亚胡称被刺伤的印度飞行员为英雄；迪拜航空暂停以色列航班

Flydubai FZ1073航班事件时间线（共3条）：飞往以色列的航班紧急情况是如何发生的

该航班原定于周三从迪拜国际机场飞往特拉维夫，后改道飞往沙特阿拉伯塔布克机场，并安全降落。

据WAM报道，调查人员将调查事件的来龙去脉和动机，以及是否与任何“恐怖活动或意图”有关，或者是否涉及事先计划或指挥。

沙姆西表示，由于该飞机在阿联酋注册并悬挂阿联酋国旗，因此阿联酋司法当局对该事件拥有管辖权。他还补充说，阿联酋法律适用于机上发生的犯罪行为，“即使这些犯罪行为发生在阿联酋领土之外”。

此前，以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡表示，他与阿联酋总统谢赫·穆罕默德·本·扎耶德·阿勒纳哈扬通了电话，后者同意以色列将“参与对嫌疑人的审讯”。

2026年9月30日星期三，乘坐迪拜航空航班在沙特阿拉伯紧急迫降的乘客抵达以色列特拉维夫附近的本古里安国际机场。[Ariel Schalit/AP]

内塔尼亚胡称赞迪拜航空的飞行员、印度籍的斯米特·马赫查尔以及乘客们避免了一场灾难，此前一名副驾驶据称刺伤了他并试图坠毁飞机。

印度外交部表示，马赫查尔上尉在沙特阿拉伯塔布克一家医院接受初步治疗后，已被转移至阿布扎比继续接受治疗。印度驻阿联酋大使已前往探望了马赫查尔上尉及其家人。

载有 174 人的飞机上的以色列乘客描述了受伤的印度机长如何设法打开驾驶舱门让他们进去，然后他们与副驾驶搏斗，并在飞机急剧下降时稳定了飞机，当时飞机的舵都被扯掉了。

“我们感到无助，悬在半空中，我不知道该向谁求助。但一切都是求生的本能，”救援人员之一阿萨夫·拉胡安在以色列总统府发布的一份新声明中说道。

以色列外交部表示，机上人员分别来自以色列、印度和阿联酋。美国国务院则表示，其中四名乘客拥有美国国籍。

迪拜航空表示将暂停往返以色列的航班。