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Gone quiet · last update Oct 12, 2026 / flydubai

The FlyDubai co-pilot's attack in the cockpit of a flight to Israel

Overview · reviewed October 23, 2026

On September 30, 2026, the co-pilot of a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv attacked the captain with the cockpit's crash ax, and passengers and crew kept the plane, with 182 people on board, from crashing.[1][2] The United Arab Emirates called it a terrorist attack and later said the co-pilot had meant to fly the plane into the passenger terminal of Israel's main airport.[1][3]

Read the timeline

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The United Arab Emirates called it a terrorist attack and later said the co-pilot had meant to fly the plane into the passenger terminal of Israel's main airport.[1][3]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-09-28 (UTC): 20%, 97 of 476 tracked outlets (18 left, 49 center, 30 right)Week of 2026-10-05 (UTC): 10%, 49 of 479 tracked outlets (10 left, 26 center, 13 right)Week of 2026-10-12 (UTC): under 1%, 2 of 476 tracked outlets (1 left, 0 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 7 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (3 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Oct 12, 20261012 of 476under 1%
Oct 5, 202610261349 of 47910%
Sep 28, 202618493097 of 47620%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Oct 11, 2026 · first reported · Headline from Bloomberg

    Islamic Leader in Australia Rejects Link to FlyDubai Co-Pilot

Background

The captain managed to open the cockpit door. A dentist and other passengers wrestled with the co-pilot, and a plumber seized the controls as the plane plunged toward the desert.[4] Uniformed crew members who had not been publicly identified then steadied the aircraft.[5] A doctor among the passengers treated the wounded captain,[6] Smit Machchhar, who later spoke by video call with India's prime minister, Narendra Modi.[7]

Commercial travel between Israel and the UAE was suspended, and Israel began repatriation flights for stranded passengers.[8] President Donald Trump said Iran might be linked to the co-pilot.[9] CNN reported that terrorist images were found on the suspect's social media.[10] In Israel, where an election was weeks away, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraced the people who stopped the attack.[11] The co-pilot was expected to face the death penalty, the New York Post reported.[12] In October, a Melbourne Islamic leader whose community center Emirati prosecutors had linked to him denied any connection and condemned what he called false accusations.[13]

Supporting stories (13)
  1. Flydubai attacker had planned 9/11-style attack, source tells NBC News
  2. What happened inside the Flydubai flight to Israel? What we know so far
  3. Flydubai co-pilot planned suicide attack on Tel Aviv airport: UAE prosecutor
  4. A plumber and a dentist are praised as heroes in FlyDubai near-disaster
  5. Who are the mystery men who stepped in to keep the FlyDubai plane from crashing?
  6. FlyDubai flight passenger details treating wounded pilot after tying up suspect
  7. FlyDubai 'hero' pilot speaks for first time
  8. Israel to start repatriation flights for passengers stranded in UAE following FlyDubai attack
  9. Trump says Iran may be linked to FlyDubai copilot who tried to crash Israel-bound jet
  10. Terrorist images found on Flydubai suspect’s social media
  11. Netanyahu, in Tough Election Fight, Embraces Those Who Stopped FlyDubai Attack
  12. FlyDubai attacker intended to crash plane into Tel Aviv airport, investigation finds
  13. Melbourne man linked to suspected flydubai hijacker condemns 'false accusations'

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 17 recorded updates

October 2026

  1. Melbourne man linked to suspected flydubai hijacker condemns 'false accusations'Headline from Al-Monitor · 5 outlets
  2. Flydubai co-pilot planned suicide attack on Tel Aviv airport: UAE prosecutorHeadline from WFMZ Allentown · 38 outlets
  3. FACT FOCUS: What’s known about the FlyDubai attack probe and the red flags about the suspectHeadline from MyNorthwest · 3 outlets
  4. Who are the mystery men who stepped in to keep the FlyDubai plane from crashing?Headline from KAAL Rochester · 8 outlets
  5. Terrorist images found on Flydubai suspect’s social mediaHeadline from KRDO · 7 outlets
  6. FlyDubai 'hero' pilot speaks for first timeHeadline from Deutsche Welle · 3 outlets
  7. What happened inside the Flydubai flight to Israel? What we know so farHeadline from KESQ Palm Springs · 3 outlets
  8. US, UK, Israel Probe Iran Connections to Fly Dubai Attack, Incident at Fairford Air BaseHeadline from CBN · 2 outlets
  9. FlyDubai flight passenger details treating wounded pilot after tying up suspectHeadline from ABC 7 San Francisco · 2 outlets
  10. Inside FlyDubai’s 4-hour ordeal: A cockpit fight, steep descents and alternating distress codesHeadline from WTOP Washington DC · 2 outlets
  11. A plumber and a dentist are praised as heroes in FlyDubai near-disasterHeadline from KAAL Rochester · 8 outlets
  12. Netanyahu, in Tough Election Fight, Embraces Those Who Stopped FlyDubai AttackHeadline from Wall Street Journal · 3 outlets
  13. Israel to start repatriation flights for passengers stranded in UAE following FlyDubai attackHeadline from WFMZ Allentown · 7 outlets
  14. Trump Hails 737 Max After FlyDubai Emergency—A Plane He Once Called ‘Worst Looking’Headline from Forbes · 2 outlets
  15. Trump says Iran may be linked to FlyDubai copilot who tried to crash Israel-bound jetHeadline from KAAL Rochester · 17 outlets

September 2026

  1. Flydubai attacker had planned 9/11-style attack, source tells NBC NewsHeadline from NBC Los Angeles · 73 outlets
  2. FlyDubai attacker intended to crash plane into Tel Aviv airport, investigation findsHeadline from KBRW · 93 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →