UAE probes possible 'terror' link in attack on flydubai flight to Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected the United Arab Emirates to take the lead in the investigation, but that Israel would join.

Travellers board a flydubai aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport after a separate flydubai flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel was diverted to Saudi Arabia following an emergency signal, Sep 30, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad)

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DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday (Oct 1) it was probing a possible "terrorist" link to an apparent attack by a pilot on board a flight to Israel that saw passengers reroute the plane to stop it from crashing .

The dramatic events on Wednesday ended with passengers being given a hero's welcome by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back home in Israel as they arrived from Saudi Arabia, where the plane made an emergency landing hours earlier.

Netanyahu credited the flydubai pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, as well as passengers with averting catastrophe, after a co-pilot allegedly stabbed him and tried to crash the plane .

Passengers described rushing the cockpit after the plane suddenly plummeted, losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website.

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