Passengers and crew overpower co-pilot after mid-air stabbing on Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv

Mid-air attack on flight FZ1073

Flydubai flight FZ1073 was travelling towards Tel Aviv on Wednesday carrying approximately 180 passengers, the majority of whom were Israeli citizens. The flight was operated with a Boeing 737 Max aircraft. During the journey, a violent altercation erupted inside the cockpit when the co-pilot attacked the captain with a knife. The co-pilot attempted to kill the captain and seize control of the aircraft to carry out a suicide attack. Despite sustaining severe stab wounds, the captain struggled to release the flight deck deadbolt and open the cockpit door before collapsing from his injuries.

Passengers breach the flight deck

Phone alerts began reaching relatives in Israel early in the morning as news of the struggle aboard the aircraft broke. Once the injured captain managed to unlock the door, passengers and cabin crew rushed to the front of the cabin to confront the attacker. Tzvika Manes, the head of a financial company who was travelling on the flight, moved into the cockpit alongside two other men to restrain the co-pilot. Manes described the physical struggle inside the flight deck in an interview with the Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist.

We jumped on the pilot. We neutralized him.

The passengers and cabin crew pinned the co-pilot to the floor and took control of the cockpit area. Manes was later seen with blood covering his white shirt following the confrontation. The crew rerouted the Boeing 737 Max to Saudi Arabia, completing an emergency landing with no injuries reported among the 180 passengers on board. After waiting in Saudi Arabia following the diversion, the passengers boarded a flight to Tel Aviv and landed safely on Wednesday evening.

Cockpit security systems and vulnerabilities

The mid-air confrontation tested aircraft security mechanisms implemented following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. Under a 2025 Boeing manual for flight attendants, the cockpit door on a Boeing 737 Max functions as a hardened barrier fitted with an internal deadbolt locked from the flight deck. Cabin crew can request normal access using an entry doorbell, or trigger emergency access through an external six-button keypad that sounds an alarm and unlocks the door after a short time delay. However, these systems were built to prevent cabin intruders rather than attacks initiated by flight crew from inside the flight deck. Investigations into the 2015 Germanwings crash, which killed 150 people after a first officer locked the captain outside the cockpit, previously spurred airlines to enforce rules ensuring two crew members remain on the flight deck at all times.

Diplomatic response and investigation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tracked the situation as the aircraft diverted to Saudi Arabia and the passengers awaited transport back to Israel. United States President Donald Trump held extensive discussions with Netanyahu regarding the stabbing and the attempted hijacking of the airliner. Trump subsequently stated that the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist while discussing the incident with reporters. Israeli media outlets and officials praised the three passengers who entered the cockpit, describing their intervention as preventing a wider disaster.