The United Arab Emirates has said it is investigating whether Wednesday’s cockpit battle on board a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv was linked to terrorism.
The country’s attorney-general Hamad Saif al Shamsi has ordered an investigation to collect evidence on the altercation between the flight’s two pilots, state news agency WAM reported on Thursday.
The investigators will look into “the extent to which [the incident] is related to any terrorist activity” and whether the attack was premeditated, according to WAM.
A person familiar with the situation said Israel was also “involved” in investigating the incident but declined to provide further details.
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Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu told CNN there had been no advance warning or specific intelligence on the attack and that it was “too soon to say” whether there was any indication of Iranian involvement.
Netanyahu added that he had spoken to United Arab Emirates (UAE) president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and that the Emirati leader had “agreed that Israel would join the interrogation”.
The flight took off from Dubai before being diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, after the plane’s co-pilot stabbed the pilot and the plane plunged more than 5,000m within the space of 90 seconds. Passengers and crew struggled with the attacker and managed to land the plane safely.
Dubai government-owned Flydubai on Wednesday evening said its flights between Dubai and Israel were suspended “while the investigation continues”, without mentioning which authority was leading the probe.
The attacking co-pilot’s identity has not been revealed, although Israel has said he is an Omani national. His motivation remains unknown.
The incident has raised questions about the usually rigorous security checks passengers undergo before flying to Israel, which has a history of aviation-related attacks. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
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