A Flydubai flight en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv experienced a catastrophic incident when a pilot stabbed the other pilot and attempted to disable the aircraft. The plane plummeted 17,000 feet in less than two minutes before passengers, including Israeli citizen Yaniv Hayun, managed to break into the cockpit and subdue the attacker using a chokehold. This dramatic intervention prevented what could have been a catastrophic loss of life.

Hayun then helped stabilise the aircraft by manipulating the flight controls whilst an off-duty pilot who had been in the cabin took command. The stabbed pilot, Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, remained conscious long enough to open the cockpit door and is now in stable condition. The flight eventually landed safely at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, and passengers were subsequently transferred to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport. The attacker was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities, with Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz describing the incident as an "attempted jihadist terror attack," though no official motive has been released.