Netanyahu says the FZ1073 attacker "intended to crash the plane with all its passengers on board"
Benjamin NetanyahuPrime Minister of Israel, in a statement posted by the Prime Minister's Office on X
In an October 2, 2026 statement posted by the Prime Minister's Office, Benjamin Netanyahu said that as time passes the picture is becoming clearer, that the attacker on flydubai flight FZ1073 had undergone Islamist radicalization and intended to crash the plane with all its passengers on board, and that passengers prevented a disaster on the scale of 9/11. He said Israel was investigating whether the attacker was sent and that whoever sent him would pay a very heavy price. He did not say what information supported the radicalization finding.
“The attacker underwent Islamist radicalization. He intended to crash the plane with all its passengers on board.”
Original post
Where this statement fits
Did a flydubai pilot try to crash Israel-bound flight FZ1073?
On September 30, 2026, flydubai flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, dropped sharply in altitude en route, transmitted emergency transponder codes and landed at Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. flydubai said an altercation occurred in the flight deck, and the Tabuk airport said both pilots were taken to hospital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot stabbed the other and "apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board," and Defense Minister Israel Katz called the incident "an attempted jihadist terrorist attack." flydubai said the reasons and motives were unknown and subject to a formal investigation. The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority and Saudi Arabia's National Transport Safety Center opened investigations. On October 3, the UAE Attorney-General, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, said investigations had revealed that the co-pilot attempted to carry out a terrorist act, attacking the captain with a crash axe and trying to take control of the aircraft's flight controls, and that motives and any links were still under investigation. As of October 4, 2026, we did not locate a public report that anyone had been charged. The disputed claim is whether a pilot deliberately tried to crash the aircraft.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
The English-language account of the Prime Minister's Office posted the text of Netanyahu's statement with a short video. News outlets carried slightly different English renderings of the same remarks; this is the office's own English text.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The statement opened, "As time passes, the picture is becoming clearer. Yaniv and his heroic companions prevented a disaster on the scale of 9/11." Yaniv Hayun is the passenger the Prime Minister's Office named as having broken into the cockpit.
After the quotation
It continued, "We are now investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price."
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether a pilot deliberately tried to crash FZ1073. Netanyahu states without qualification that the attacker intended to crash the plane with everyone on board, a firmer version of his September 30 statement that the pilot apparently tried to crash it. We labeled it Condemned, the label this case uses for speakers who assert the attempt. His open question about whether the attacker was sent concerns who else was involved, not whether the attempt occurred.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseLaura Loomer says the FZ1073 hijacker wanted to crash the plane and asks why Tucker Carlson was in the UAE that day
“the @flydubai plane flown by a Muslim pilot who worked for the Emirati airline was hijacked by the jihadi who wanted to crash the plane full of Israeli passengers as a form of jihad”Read statement
UAE Attorney-General says the FZ1073 co-pilot "attempted to carry out a terrorist act" with a crash axe
“Investigations into the incident aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073 revealed that the co-pilot attempted to carry out a terrorist act”Read statement
Netanyahu tells Fox & Friends the attacker looks "very likely" to have planned to down the plane, but he does not "make final conclusions yet"
“I know it's not clear, but it looks very likely that he was going to down the plane with all the passengers in there.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Netanyahu says the FZ1073 attacker "intended to crash the plane with all its passengers on board"
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/4536-in-an-october-2-2026-statement-posted-by
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Netanyahu says the FZ1073 attacker "intended to crash the plane with all its passengers on board"". First published: 2026-10-04. Last updated: 2026-10-04. https://disputeindex.com/events/4536-in-an-october-2-2026-statement-posted-by