Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the co-pilot of a Flydubai plane that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday stabbed the pilot and apparently tried to crash the aircraft.

Netanyahu made the claim in a video statement from his office on Wednesday afternoon, his first public comment on the incident.

He said the incident occurred as the plane approached Israel, adding that “all indications show that he tried to crash the plane” with everyone on board.

The prime minister said the co-pilot had been arrested and was being interrogated by Saudi authorities.

Israeli officials identified the suspect as the plane’s co-pilot.

Flight FZ1073, which was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with mostly Israeli passengers, was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

Reuters reported that 172 people were on board, including 169 Israeli citizens.

Netanyahu said an Israeli passenger told him the aircraft went into a spin and began to descend.

According to the Prime Minister, the passenger broke into the cockpit with a crew member and together they overpowered the suspect.

Another crew member then stabilised the plane.

Flightradar24 data showed the aircraft dropped nearly 14,000 feet within 30 seconds during the incident.

Netanyahu praised the passengers and crew members who intervened as “heroes” and said he had directed Israel’s security establishment to prepare for possible additional threats.

Flydubai said the aircraft was secured by on-duty crew members travelling on the flight and that all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for.

A commercial flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a physical fight broke out between its two pilots in the cockpit.

The FlyDubai Boeing 737, carrying about 174–180 passengers, plunged thousands of feet mid-flight and transmitted emergency signals, including one indicating possible unlawful interference. This briefly raised fears of a hijacking and prompted Israel to scramble fighter jets.

According to officials and passenger accounts, the altercation between the pilots turned violent, with reports of a knife being involved and blood seen in the cockpit. Passengers and crew intervened to subdue one of the pilots. The aircraft eventually landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. All passengers were reported unharmed, though both pilots sustained injuries and were taken to hospital.

Authorities are investigating the incident.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and Kenyan President William Ruto are currently breaking ground on a landmark $16 billion oil refinery in Lamu, on Kenya’s northern coast.

The ceremony, held on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, formally launches construction of the 700,000-barrel-per-day facility, which is set to become the largest refinery in East Africa and the second-largest on the continent after Dangote’s plant in Lekki, Nigeria. The project aims to replicate the success of the Nigerian refinery by processing crude for regional markets, reducing East Africa’s long-standing dependence on imported refined petroleum products, lowering fuel costs, and conserving scarce foreign exchange.

Several African leaders are attending the groundbreaking, including the presidents of Uganda and Ethiopia, along with other regional heads of state and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. The event underscores growing continental efforts to process raw materials locally rather than exporting crude and importing finished fuels.

Once completed around 2030, the Lamu refinery is expected to supply Kenya and neighbouring countries such as Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, and others. Officials project it will create between 50,000 and 60,000 jobs and stimulate related industries, including petrochemicals and bitumen production. The complex will also feature a 1,000-megawatt power plant, with plans to sell a portion of the electricity to the Kenyan government.

Dangote has offered East African governments a combined 30% equity stake in the project. Financing is structured with roughly 70% debt and 30% equity. The facility is located near Lamu’s deep-water port, chosen for its strategic advantages in handling large-scale industrial operations.

While the project has faced some local land-related protests and a court order maintaining the status quo pending a hearing, the groundbreaking is proceeding as planned. Dangote has dismissed the challenges and reaffirmed that construction will move forward, with the plant targeted for completion in under four years.

The development is being hailed as one of Kenya’s biggest infrastructure investments since independence and a major step toward regional energy security and industrialisation.