Flydubai flight stabbing: what to know about the UAE inquiry and suspended flights

The flight’s diversion to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, was reported Wednesday. Flydubai Flight FZ 1073 had been traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv; the airline said it landed safely after an incident in the flight deck.

What investigators know — and what they do not

Saudi Arabia said its preliminary findings showed that the co-pilot assaulted the captain, injuring both men. Its account of the pilots’ transfer did not establish why the attack happened. The UAE inquiry will examine the circumstances and causes, including whether there was terrorist intent, advance planning or direction by others.

Machchhar said, “I was fighting for my life,” in the Friday call, The Associated Press reported. Flydubai’s chief executive said Friday that everyone aboard was safe and thanked the captain, other crew members and passengers who helped.

Published accounts differ on the number of people aboard. AP reported 174 passengers and eight crew members, while CBS News reported 174 people aboard. The passenger count should not be treated as an uncontested total for the aircraft.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged that the co-pilot had undergone Islamist radicalization, but AP reported that he offered no evidence. President Donald Trump said early information suggested a connection to Tehran and threatened a forceful response if Iranian agents were found responsible. He did not explain the basis for his suggestion.

An official involved in the UAE investigation told AP there was no current evidence linking the attack to Iran. Investigators also had not established whether the co-pilot acted as part of a group. Those gaps matter in a region already unsettled by the U.S.-Iran war: political statements are not findings about who, if anyone, directed the attack.

Reporting has not settled which weapon was used. TIME described later accounts of a cockpit crash axe, while earlier accounts referred to knives. The available accounts do not establish a consistent official finding on the weapon.

The cockpit safety questions

The incident raises a difficult question for aviation security: how can a crew respond when a threat comes from someone already inside the cockpit? TIME’s aviation-security reporting examined crew screening, access to cockpit tools and procedures for entering a locked flight deck. It did not establish that any particular safeguard failed on FZ 1073.

AP also reported sharp changes in the aircraft’s altitude based on flight-tracking data. Those readings describe the plane’s movement, not an official finding about what the co-pilot intended or how the crew regained control. Establishing the sequence in the flight deck is part of the work still ahead of investigators.

Suspended flights and uncertain alternatives

Flydubai said Friday that it had temporarily suspended Tel Aviv operations at authorities’ request while the investigation proceeds. AP reported wider cancellations of UAE flights to Israel. The disruption affects an established route between countries that normalized relations in 2020, not just the people aboard the diverted flight.

Israel and the UAE agreed on repatriation flights planned to start Friday, AP reported, but it was unclear late Friday whether they had begun. El Al cited missing landing permits. For travelers waiting to get home, the immediate unresolved question is when those flights can operate.