The United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday (October 1, 2026) that it was probing a possible “terrorist” link to an apparent attack by a pilot on board a flight to Israel that saw passengers reroute the plane to stop it from crashing.
The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affair (MoFA) released a statement noting that the UAE Attorney-General had ordered the formation of a team comprising specialised members of the Public Prosecution to investigate the circumstances and causes of the incidents. The Ministry affirmed that the UAE’s judicial authorities have jurisdiction to investigate the incident as the aircraft is registered in the UAE and bears is flags. U.S. President Donald Trump, after discussing the incident with Mr.
The dramatic events on Wednesday (September 30, 2026) ended with passengers being given a hero’s welcome by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back home in Israel as they arrived from Saudi Arabia, where the plane made an emergency landing hours earlier. Passengers described rushing to the cockpit after the plane suddenly plummeted, losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website.
The UAE’s chief prosecutor said an investigation had been launched into the incident, including the possibility of “terrorist activity or intent”. India’s embassy in Saudi Arabia said Mr. Machchhar was being treated at a hospital in the country and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as a “HERO”. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he had spoken with his UAE counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and agreed “to collaborate against extremist elements seeking to harm security and undermine stability”. Netanyahu, said, “It seems as though the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack-job.”
