Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has disclosed new details about the co-pilot accused of attacking the captain aboard a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv on Wednesday, an incident that nearly ended in catastrophe for the 174 people on board.
Saudi authorities are interrogating the Omani co-pilot, whom Israeli officials say stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the aircraft. The captain, Smit Machchhar, reportedly managed to open the cockpit door after he had been stabbed, allowing passengers and crew to intervene, subdue the alleged assailant, and help stabilize the plane before it made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed Thursday that the co-pilot had undergone what he described as “Islamist radical indoctrination,” according to information Israeli authorities have gathered about his background. Accounts from a colleague, also described the co-pilot as refusing to shake hands with women and praying frequently.
Netanyahu also said that the co-pilot appeared to be suicidal after he was restrained by passengers and crew, reportedly shouting, “Kill me. Kill me.” The prime minister said the available evidence indicates that the co-pilot intended to crash the Israel-bound aircraft. But he stressed that investigators have not yet determined the precise motive, whether the co-pilot acted alone, or whether another entity may have been involved.
🚨 NOW: Netanyahu reveals the FlyDubai flight terrorist hijacker underwent ISLAMIC INDOCTRINATION, now being interrogated
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 1, 2026
"The attacker is lying there, and he says, K*LL ME. It's CLEAR he was suic*dal. He was gonna down that plane."
He was subdued after the Indian pilot… pic.twitter.com/TVqvNzUiR6
"As you know, the attacker, the co-pilot who attacked the captain, is now being interrogated. But here's what we do know," the Israeli Prime Minister said. "First, we know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination. That appears to be something we're gathering from the information, his personal information. We also know that after he was subdued — you know, this guy was the Israeli plumber, this hero, who, you know, broke into the cockpit, and he yanks him away from the instruments. He wasn't sitting in the pilot seat. He was not in his seat or the captain's seat. He was in the center, trying to jam the instruments. So he yanks him away, and they subdue him...They had to tie his hands, so they used the cord of the earphones in the cockpit. I mean, talk about improvisation."
"Then they finally got these plastic whatever you call it, you know, cuffs that they have. Ties. But—and then he's lying there now. He's this attacker. And he calls out to the aircrew, kill me. Kill me. All right? So it's clear he was suicidal," Netanyahu added. "That's not a question. It was clear he was going to down that plane. It's not clear, but it looks very likely that he was going to down the plane, and with all the passengers in there. And if you couple that with the, what I just told you about the Islamist tendencies that, radicalization that were found in his background, I think that'll give us a pretty good clue."
"But again, I don't make final conclusions yet, but that's the indications we have now."
What remains overwhelmingly clear is that this was a preventable security failure. Under Israel’s aviation arrangement with FlyDubai, pilots operating flights into the country are required to hold passports from nations that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Israel. Oman does not have such relations with Israel. Yet the co-pilot identified by Israeli officials as the alleged attacker was an Omani national.
Netanyahu said Thursday that the co-pilot exploited a loophole in the rules, while Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev has called for an investigation into whether the UAE breached the aviation agreement and urged the suspension of FlyDubai flights to Israel.