**A pilot stabbed a colleague on a flydubai flight carrying 174 people and tried to crash the plane, but passengers rushed the cockpit, restrained him, and the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.**

### Key facts

People aboard **174 passengers on flight FZ1073**  
Descent rate **4,000 metres in less than 30 seconds**  
Distress call time **8:44am local time on Wednesday**

### How it unfolded

1. **Flydubai flight departs Dubai.** A Boeing 737 operated by flydubai took off from Dubai International Airport on Wednesday morning with 174 people aboard bound for Tel Aviv.
2. **Pilot stabs colleague.** During flight, one pilot stabbed the other and apparently tried to crash the plane.
3. **Passengers intervene in cockpit.** Passengers rushed to the cockpit and held down the attacker, preventing a descent that had dropped the plane about 4,000 metres in less than 30 seconds.
4. **Plane lands in Saudi Arabia.** Air-traffic control at Tabuk Airport received a distress call at 8:44am and the aircraft landed safely around an hour later, where Saudi officials arrested the alleged attacker.
5. **Terror attack designation and response.** Israeli authorities treated the incident as a terror attack, prompting Netanyahu's government to announce it would ramp up flight security on Israeli and international carriers.
6. **Diplomatic complications emerge.** An Israeli request to send a plane to Tabuk to retrieve stranded passengers was rejected because Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations.

> *The incident shows a weakness in cockpit security when crew members pose a direct threat to flight safety.*

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Pilot stabs colleague on flydubai flight carrying 174 people