A flydubai pilot has been called a hero for averting a potential disaster on flight FZ 1073.
Indian aviator Smit Machchhar was publicly named by the Israeli Prime Minister and recognised for his actions. India's embassy in Riyadh said he was in a stable condition.
Details of what happened on the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight on Wednesday morning are still shrouded in confusion, but the Boeing 737 plunged nearly 20,000ft during a cockpit altercation, before it diverted to Saudi Arabia.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "one of the pilots stabbed the second pilot and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board". He said Indian pilot Smit Machchhar was the captain attacked by his colleague.
Mr Netanyahu paid tribute to Mr Machchhar's "extraordinary bravery". Almost all of the passengers on the flight were Israelis, he said.
"Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster," Netanyahu wrote on X.
"Today, our hearts are with him and his family," Israel's parliament speaker Amir Ohana also wrote on X.
The first officer was subdued by passengers, according to videos widely published in Israeli media.
An off-duty flydubai flight crew were able to take the controls and land the plane safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
UAE, Saudi and Israeli officials are investigating. No details about the first officer have been released, and a series of earlier media reports about the two pilots' nationalities were inaccurate.
Mr Netanyahu, who was the first to release much of the information around the drama, did so amid intense political backlash in Israel and accusations that he is politicising the incident to boost his election campaign.
Israeli media outlets widely shared the captain's picture. His name was also published by media outlets in India.
