It is “still too early” to determine if the hijacking of an Israeli plane was orchestrated by Iran or whether the attacker was a lone wolf, a Tel Aviv-based journalist has said.
Yesterday, a pilot stabbed his co-pilot on a flight from Dubai to Israel in an attempt to take over the plane.
The plane plunged more than 17,000ft, before passengers managed to overpower the pilot and take back control of the aircraft.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Mark Weiss of the Irish Times described it as a “truly remarkable story” and praised the bravery of the stabbed pilot.
“Despite being very seriously wounded, losing a lot of blood from his head and his hands, he managed to open the door [of the cockpit],” he explained.
“That was the first key move that basically saved the lives of everyone on board, all 174 passengers.
“Because the door was open, it enabled three other passengers, all Israeli nationals, to storm the cockpit when they realised something terrible was happening and the plane began to hurtle towards the ground.”
Asaf Rejwan was one of the Israelis who stepped in and helped take control of the cockpit after the pilot stabbed his colleague.
Today, he’s simply grateful to be home. 🇮🇱❤️ pic.twitter.com/cnjRw1V1NG
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 30, 2026
Two passengers managed to subdue the attacker, while a third passenger took control of the aeroplane and redirected it, so it was no longer hurtling towards the earth.
Speaking later to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, he said that he knew what to do from watching an American TV series called Mayday: Aviation Disaster. The plane was then able to land safely in Saudi Arabia.
At this point, however, officials are still not sure of the rogue pilot’s motive.
“The Saudi authorities are continuing their interrogation of the attacker, the Oman citizen,”Mr Weiss said.
“Once they've completed that, they will transfer him to the United Arab Emirates from where the flight originated.
“They will then interrogate him and presumably they will share their intelligence and may even involve Israel in the questioning.”
Israeli courage in action. 🇮🇱
Thanks to the extraordinary courage of Israeli passengers and the Emirati crew, the flight landed safely at Ben Gurion Airport .
🎥 @itsmezina__ pic.twitter.com/g83NmAk6Jw
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 30, 2026
One possibility is that he is an Iranian agent, paid to cause carnage because of Tehran’s fury with the US and Israel over the recent war.
Another possibility is that he was working for a terrorist organisation, such as Al Qaeda or ISIS.
Finally, it is possible that the man was simply a lone wolf, motivated by a hatred of Israel and Jewish people.
“He wanted to kill, maybe, as many Israelis or Jews that he could,” Mr Weiss said.
“Those are basically the three options; it's still, at this juncture, too early to determine.
“If it was Iran behind this, then that may have very significant implications for Middle East developments, how Israel will respond to that.”
Main image: A Flydubai plane. Picture by: Alamy.com.
