Flydubai attack: Saudi probe could test global aviation rules and pilot hiring processes

Saudi Arabia has opened an air safety probe into the September 30 cockpit attack on a flydubai jet, while the UAE runs a separate criminal case, Reuters said, citing three people close to the matter.

4 min readOct 8, 2026 06:31 AM IST First published on: Oct 8, 2026 at 06:31 AM IST

A FlyDubai aircraft carrying Israelis who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia parked at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo/AP)

Saudi Arabia has started an air safety investigation into last week’s cockpit attack on a flydubai jet, three people close to the matter told Reuters. The probe will run alongside a separate criminal case led by the United Arab Emirates.

Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX bound for Israel, was in Saudi airspace on September 30 when the co-pilot allegedly tried to bring the plane down by attacking the captain with an axe. The jet dropped sharply but survived, and all 172 people on board were unhurt. Experts say the case could test a global system that aims to make flying safer without blaming anyone.

What Saudi Arabia has said

According to Reuters sources, Saudi Arabia has told aviation agencies abroad that it will carry out a safety probe under international rules. One of the sources said it was not clear whether Saudi investigators would make their findings public.

Saudi Arabia’s National Transport Safety Center, which leads accident probes in the country, did not reply to a request for comment. The Saudi government and the aviation regulator also did not respond, Reuters said.

Safety probes are normal after an accident, but they are not required when a deliberate act is involved, as is suspected here.

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Who else is involved

The US National Transportation Safety Board has named a representative to the probe, Reuters reported. The agency would play a key role because the aircraft was built in the United States.

Under international rules known as Annex 13, the UAE will also take part automatically, as the jet is registered there and flydubai is based in Dubai. UAE officials did not respond to Reuters. The UAE has opened its own criminal investigation, and its prosecutor general has called the incident a “terrorist attack”.

Israel, whose citizens made up nearly all of those on board, has offered to join the Saudi probe but has not been invited, Ofer Vaknin, head of Israel’s Aircraft Safety Investigation Authority, told Reuters. He added that Israel may not need to take part, as the aircraft itself had no operational or safety fault.

A test for the global safety system

Saudi Arabia and Israel have no diplomatic ties. Experts told Reuters that the UN-backed system of safety cooperation, which is decades old, has worked across political divides. Annex 13 gives observer status to countries with many deaths or injuries among their citizens, but it does not say what happens when nobody is hurt, as in this case.

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Reuters noted that such probes avoid questions of blame and focus on technical points, and are widely credited with cutting accidents in recent decades. In 2020, after Iran shot down a Ukrainian jet, US and Iranian aviation officials still took part together in the playback of cockpit recordings at the offices of France’s BEA agency, participants said.

Friction between safety investigators and prosecutors over access to evidence has grown in recent years. In 2015, the BEA went ahead with a safety probe after a dispute with prosecutors following the Germanwings crash, which was caused by the pilot. Safety officials say prosecutors lead when a crime is suspected, but even deliberate acts can offer lessons on areas such as hiring and cockpit security.

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