The Boeing 737, flight FZ1073, sent out emergency signals during its journey, including squawk code 7700 for general emergency and 7500 for hijacking. The plane descended nearly 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds before landing safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, according to flight tracking data. Passenger Yaniv Hayoun described how he and others wrestled the attacker out of the cockpit and took control of the plane. “I grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and dragged him out first,” he said.

The stabbed pilot, identified as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, was credited with fighting back and opening the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to intervene. “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. Another passenger, Miryam Shira Ohayon, said the pilot had “basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane.”

Israeli officials, including Defence Minister Israel Katz, described the incident as an “attempted jihadist attack.” The foreign ministry informed diplomats worldwide that it was an “attempted terrorist attack against Israelis, the United Arab Emirates, and the Abraham Accords.” No official statements have been issued by the UAE or Oman.

In response, Israel announced it would ramp up security checks for all pilots flying into the country, regardless of the airline. “Every pilot that is going to be flying into Israel, we are going to know the pilots’ identities, know who they are, and do some type of security check,” said Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister’s office.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) stated that flydubai’s safety oversight is the responsibility of the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). “This includes responsibility for ensuring that the operator meets the applicable requirements concerning its flight crews and their fitness to fly,” EASA said. Flydubai has not commented on the specifics of the incident or the weapon used.

The incident occurred just one day after Netanyahu warned of potential attacks ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 election. Opposition leader Yair Lapid denied any prior warning about such an incident during a security briefing with Netanyahu. “Nothing even resembling this morning’s plane incident appeared in the security briefing with the prime minister last night,” Lapid said on X.

The passengers, many of whom were Israeli nationals, were later flown to Tel Aviv on a replacement aircraft. The attacker remains in Saudi custody for interrogation. Israeli officials have not yet released the full findings of the ongoing joint investigation with the defence establishment.