Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu talked about the stabbing and landing attempt on the Dubai-Tel Aviv plane

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that a plane heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia after one of the pilots stabbed another and "apparently tried to crash the plane" on Wednesday.

Netanyahu stated that the pilot was detained and questioned by Saudi Arabian authorities.

It was stated that the pilot who was stabbed was Captain Pilot Smit Machchhar, an Indian citizen, and was taken to the hospital after the plane landed. The Israeli Prime Minister later called Machchhar a "hero".

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an "attempted terrorist attack". However, no official statement has yet been made regarding the possible reason behind the incident.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PLANE?

Flydubai's flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates at 07.05 local time (03.05 GMT) and headed towards Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.

There were at least 150 people on the plane. Netanyahu said "almost all" of the passengers were Israeli.

According to data from the flight tracking site Flightradar24, the plane rapidly lost altitude over Saudi Arabia approximately two and a half hours after taking off. The plane descended more than 17,000 feet (more than 5,000 meters) in less than two minutes.

A few minutes later, the plane transmitted the emergency code 7700. Then he changed his signal to code 7500, which reported hijacking.

The aircraft briefly entered Jordanian airspace, returned to Saudi Arabia and then began a manual descent for landing.

Less than an hour later, the plane sent emergency code 7700 again.

In the first local media reports, based on Israeli officials, it was reported that a fight broke out between two pilots.

However, in a statement following the incident on Wednesday, Netanyahu confirmed later reports, saying one of the pilots stabbed the other and then "apparently tried to crash the plane."

"IT IS TOO EARLY TO SAY WHO IS BEHIND THE ATTACK"

Netanyahu later told Fox News that it was too early to say who was behind the attempt to shoot down the plane, but that Israel would "probably" participate in the investigation into the incident.

In his response to the question posed by Fox News host Sean Hannity, Netanyahu said, "It is too early to say that. The pilot who carried out the attack is currently being investigated in Saudi Arabia. I think the pilot will be taken to the United Arab Emirates, where he came from, or at least where he set off and boarded the plane. We will follow the investigation and probably participate in the investigation."

NETANYAHU'S PRAISE FOR THE PILOT: A TRUE HERO

Netanyahu said an Israeli passenger told him, "The plane started to turn around and started to descend." He said that the passenger and a crew member entered the cockpit and neutralized "the pilot who carried out the stabbing."

According to location data, the plane was directed to Tabuk Airport in northwest Saudi Arabia and landed.

According to the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia, the stabbed pilot, whose condition was stable, was later announced as Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian citizen.

Netanyahu praised Machchhar, calling him "a true hero" and saying he "saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and citizens of other countries."

"HE DESTROYED THE DEVICES"

Passenger Yaniv Hayun, who was later welcomed by Netanyahu and described as a hero, said in the video published by the Prime Minister's Office that he and other passengers tried to open the cockpit door, but the pilot who was stabbed was very close to the door.

Hayun stated that the injured pilot managed to open the door before collapsing.

Inside the cockpit, the attacker "tried to destroy the devices to disable the aircraft," he said.

Hayun said that he neutralized the attacker by squeezing his neck and took him out of the cockpit, and then other passengers helped to take the attacker under control by pinning him to the ground.

WHAT HAPPENED SO FAR?

Immediately after the incident, Israeli and Saudi Arabian air forces took off their warplanes, and Netanyahu held urgent security talks.

Netanyahu described the situation as a "very serious security incident" in his statement on Wednesday.

He stated that Israeli security forces "are in close contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety of the passengers."

"I salute these heroes who showed extraordinary resourcefulness and courage. They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster," Netanyahu said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also praised Machchhar's actions, calling him a hero on social media.

"His courage helped save hundreds of lives and prevent a great tragedy," Modi said in his post on X. "India is proud of Captain Machchhar," he said.

Flydubai, on the other hand, announced that "there was a fight in the cockpit" and that the plane was "successfully taken under control by the Flydubai crew on duty, and the crew directed the plane and landed it safely at Tabuk Airport."

The airline company stated that two spare planes were sent to Tabuk to evacuate passengers and crew and that the incident did not affect other planned flights.

The evacuation plane taking the passengers to Tel Aviv took off from Tabuk at 17.40 local time (14.40 GMT) and arrived in Tel Aviv about an hour later, at 18.40 local time (15.40 GMT).

"Our priority is to ensure the safety, health and welfare of all passengers and crew involved in this incident and to support the official investigation," a company spokesman said.

US President Donald Trump also stated that he met with Netanyahu after the incident and said that the attacker looked like "probably a terrorist" or that there may be other reasons behind the attack.