Cockpit stabbing on FlyDubai plane to Tel Aviv puts crew-related hijackings in focus
Sep 30, 2026, 1:04 PM
An FlyDubai plane carrying Israeli passengers who had earlier been aboard another FlyDubai aircraft that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia approaches Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Credit: AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg
(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
NEW YORK (AP) — A pilot on a plane traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv stabbed the other pilot and then apparently tried to crash the aircraft Wednesday before being subdued by passengers and crew.
The Boeing 737 made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where the unnamed pilot was detained, but not before an abrupt descent prompted Israel to scramble warplanes over concerns of a possible hijacking.
Here are some past examples of plane hijackings and attempted hijackings potentially involving pilots or crew members:
An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot tried to cut the engines of a Horizon Air jet traveling from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco while riding in an extra seat in the cockpit. The plane was diverted and landed in Portland with more than 80 people. Joseph Emerson told police he was despondent over a friend’s recent death, had taken psychedelic mushrooms and hadn’t slept in days.
A China Eastern Airlines flight from Kunming in southwest China to Guangzhou, near Hong Kong, slammed into a mountain, killing all 132 people aboard. Chinese authorities have yet to release their final investigative report, but data released by American investigators earlier this year suggests the jet’s engines were deliberately shut off and there was a cockpit struggle before the plane nose-dived.
The co-pilot on a Germanwings jet traveling from Barcelona, Spain, to Duesseldorf, Germany, locked the captain out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed the plane into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board. Andreas Lubitz had struggled with depression and suffered from sleeplessness and fear of losing his vision.
The co-pilot on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Milan, Italy, hijacked the jet and rerouted it to Geneva, Switzerland. Hailemedhin Abera Tegegn, the co-pilot, surrendered to local police and sought political asylum. None of the 193 passengers were harmed.
The pilot of a Mozambique Airlines plane traveling from the southern African nation to Angola deliberately downed the jet in a national park in Namibia, killing all 33 people on board. Authorities said at the time that Herminio dos Santos Fernandes, the pilot, locked the cockpit door and set the plane on course to crash when the co-pilot went to the bathroom.
An EgyptAir flight from Los Angeles to Cairo plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 passengers and crew on board. American investigators concluded the copilot, Gameel Al-Batouti, set the plane on course to crash while the captain was in the bathroom. He then shut off the engines as the captain returned and struggled to right the plane. Egyptian authorities, however, disputed the findings, concluding in their own investigation that mechanical failure was to blame.
A SilkAir flight from Jakarta to Singapore crashed near the Indonesian town of Palembang, killing all 104 people on board. Indonesian investigators concluded that “unlawful interference” likely caused the crash of the new model Boeing jet in good weather. Their report found the pilot, Tsu Way Ming, “was in the process of, or intending to, leave the cockpit” before the cockpit voice recorder cut out. Authorities also said the pilot was “facing financial problems, and had experienced several company disciplinary actions,” including a demotion.
A pilot crashed a Royal Air Maroc flight from Agadir, Morocco, to Casablanca into the Atlas Mountains just 10 minutes after takeoff, killing all 44 people on board. Investigators determined Younes Khayati switched off the autopilot and sent the plane hurtling to the ground as the co-pilot tried in vain to intervene. The Associated Press reported at the time that it was “the deliberate wish of the pilot to end his life.” A union representing pilots disputed the findings.
An off-duty FedEx flight engineer attempted to hijack a company cargo plane traveling from Memphis, Tennessee, to San Jose, California, while riding as a jump seat passenger. Auburn Calloway attacked the flight crew armed with a hammer and a spear gun. The crew subdued him and safely landed the plane, despite those who confronted Calloway suffering extensive injuries. Investigators said Calloway had intended to crash the plane after facing possible disciplinary measures.
A Japan Airlines flight from Fukuoka to Tokyo crashed in Tokyo Bay just as it was landing, killing 24 of the 174 people on board. Investigators said there was a fight in the cockpit as the pilot, Seiji Katagiri, put the engines into reverse thrust. They also later determined Katagiri, who survived the crash, had been deemed fit to fly even after having a history of mental illness, including paranoid schizophrenia.
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Associated Press transportation writer Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this story.
