Attacker’s Identity and Motive Remain Unknown After Flydubai Flight to Israel Escapes Disaster

JERUSALEM – Investigators were working Thursday to determine the identity and motive of the Omani copilot accused of stabbing his captain aboard a flight bound for Israel. The attack sent the aircraft into a dangerous dive and ultimately forced it to land in Saudi Arabia.

Passengers on the FlyDubai flight, which was carrying 174 people from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv, recounted how the bloodied Indian captain opened the cockpit door. Several Israeli passengers then rushed inside, restrained the copilot and helped stabilize the aircraft after its descent became so steep that the rudder was ripped away.

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

Saudi and Emirati authorities have offered few public details, saying only that investigations are underway. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that the copilot was arrested.

Capt. Smit Machchhar, who has been widely hailed as another hero of the flight, was in stable condition, the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said overnight. The condition of the detained copilot remained unknown.

In an interview broadcast by CNN on Wednesday evening, Netanyahu said the suspect was an Omani national and was being questioned in Saudi Arabia.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he and Netanyahu had discussed the incident “at length” by phone. Trump said the copilot appeared to be “perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job.”

Netanyahu also said he spoke with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who agreed that Israel would take part in questioning the suspect.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the passengers included citizens of Israel, India and the UAE. The U.S. State Department said four people aboard the aircraft were American citizens.

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FlyDubai said it would suspend flights to and from Israel while the investigation continues.

Netanyahu had warned in recent days of unspecified, heightened security threats. Israel is also one week from the anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which set off the war in Gaza.

The crisis unfolded roughly two and a half hours after the plane left Dubai. According to Flightradar24, the Boeing 737 Max 8 descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet — about 10,000 meters to 5,100 meters — in approximately one minute. The aircraft then made an erratic circle near the Jordanian border before landing about an hour later in the Saudi city of Tabuk.

A person who heard the aircraft’s communications with air traffic control said Saudi Arabia and Jordan initially turned the plane away before it eventually landed in Tabuk. Passengers could be heard screaming in the background, while the pilot’s trembling voice issued a “mayday” call and reported that a hijacking was in progress.

Air traffic controllers did not explain why the aircraft had been refused. The person who heard the communications spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the incident with the media.

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Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed.