What we know about the incident on the Dubai–Tel Aviv flight

Israel describes the incident that occurred on a Flydubai FZ1073 flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv as a “terrorist incident.”

Based on statements by Israeli officials, shortly after the aircraft entered Jordan’s airspace, an Omani first officer attacked the Emirati pilot, stabbing him with a knife, and tried to forcibly take control of the aircraft. The pilots are not Russian or Ukrainian, contrary to what was initially thought.

During the struggle, the pilot sent a general emergency signal and then sent another emergency signal indicating a possible hijacking. The aircraft changed course toward Saudi Arabia and, within just one minute, lost about 14,000 feet—roughly 4,200 meters of altitude—before landing at King Fahd Airport in Tobuk in the northwest of Saudi Arabia.

Israeli passengers and the flight crew who had heard the sounds of the struggle from the cockpit managed to subdue the first officer. His motivation at this stage remains unclear.

An Israeli official said it is unclear what the pilot intended to do; whether he wanted to hijack the plane toward Israel, crash it to the ground, or carry out an attack similar to the September 11 attacks. What is clear is that he intended to hijack the aircraft and that a major catastrophe was averted.

About 150 Israeli passengers are currently waiting to be transferred to Israel, and Flydubai has said it has dispatched a replacement aircraft. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, have canceled their trip to southern Israel and are holding security meetings.