Flydubai hero calls for probe into flight attendants he suspects aided attacker

Rajuan alleged that passengers confronted one attendant after noticing him starting to loosen the restrained co-pilot.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Asaf Rajuan, one of the Israeli passengers who helped overpower the co-pilot during the September 30, 2026, attack aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073, is calling for an official investigation into two flight attendants whose conduct he suspects may indicate they assisted the attacker.

The Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after the co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain with an aircraft emergency axe inside the cockpit. Passengers and off-duty pilots intervened.

Rajuan raised questions about two attendants in interviews with The Jerusalem Post and N12’s Ulpan Shishi, although he acknowledged that he cannot substantiate his suspicions.

“I have no proof,” he said when asked whether the attendants had cooperated with the attacker.

In the Ulpan Shishi interview broadcast Friday, Rajuan alleged that passengers confronted one attendant after noticing him starting to loosen the restrained co-pilot.

He also recounted a separate episode involving the injured captain, saying passengers stopped an attendant who approached him with a tablet while he was receiving medical care because they did not know why the captain was being offered a pill.

Rajuan gave the Post a broader account of his encounters with crew members, recalling struggles that involved grabbing and pulling at clothing.

He said one attendant questioned whether he was a police officer, while attempts to prevent passengers from recording events also contributed to his suspicions. Rajuan said the attendants appeared physically strong, and he worried that someone else might have a weapon.

Uncertainty about the aircraft’s course added to the confusion among those aboard.

Passengers consulted GPS information but reached different conclusions about whether they were heading toward Iraq, Jordan or Saudi Arabia.

Rajuan said he feared at the time that the danger had not ended.

“I became paranoid,” he said, acknowledging that his suspicions eventually extended to everyone.

The UAE presented a different account Friday, saying a flight attendant participated in overpowering the attacker. It also said the co-pilot confessed to acting alone. Investigators, however, were still examining possible accomplices and other connections.

Rajuan wants investigators to scrutinize the incidents involving the attendants and their contacts with passengers guarding the co-pilot.