Skip to contentSwipe for next articleIndependent Bulletin homepageDownload our appAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.Join todayAlready a member? Log inJames ReynoldsThursday 01 October 2026 23:12 BSTNetanyahu praises man who intervened in Flydubai plane hijacking incidentThe man who allegedly tried to hijack a flight to Israel attacked his fellow pilot with an axe, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed.It remains unclear how the pilot gained access to a weapon. Some analysts have suggested it may have been the emergency axe kept in the cockpit in case of emergency.Mr Netanyahu also claimed that the alleged offending co-pilot had undergone ‘radical Islamist indoctrination’ and was ‘suicidal’.Mr Netanyahu said: “As (the plane) approached Israel, one of the co-pilots stabbed or hit with an axe the other pilot, an Indian pilot,” the Israeli premier told CBS News on Wednesday, hours after the attack.He added: “The pilot that was hit, bleeding profusely, fighting for his life, managed to unlock the pilot's door,” he said, hailing captain Smit Machchhar, who was seriously injured in the attack, as a hero.In fullIsrael flight hijacking latest: Pilot ‘used axe’ to attack co-pilot before passengers using toilet raised alarmMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in