DOMINANT ANGLE
Vilnius is primarily focusing on the account of the Israeli passengers and the "hero" label used by Benyamin Netanyahu, relaying the theory of a foiled attack without waiting for the conclusions of the investigation.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Netanyahu: one pilot stabbed the other and attempted to crash the plane; the man is being questioned by Saudi authorities.
- 02
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz speaks of a "jihadist attack attempt"; Ben Gvir mentions 180 Israelis targeted.
- 03
A passenger, Yaniv Hayoun, says he removed the attacker from the cockpit and took control, before passenger pilots took over.
ANALYSIS
Vilnius, October 1, 2026. Lithuanian media outlets are reporting on the flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which was forced to make an emergency landing on Wednesday, September 30, in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Kauno diena recalls that the incident briefly raised fears of a hijacking and prompted Israel to send fighter jets. The Tabuk airport reported that the captain and co-pilot were injured and hospitalized.
The account is centered around the Israeli version. Verslo žinios and 15min quote Benjamin Netanyahu: "towards the end of the flight, one of the pilots stabbed the other and apparently tried to crash the plane with all its occupants." He adds that the man was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities. Defense Minister Israel Katz speaks of a "jihadist attack attempt." Itamar Ben Gvir mentions a terrorist who wanted to kill 180 Israelis.
Testimonies play a significant role. A passenger describes to 15min the sounds of a struggle coming from the cockpit, then the plane plummeting in a spin for "two or three minutes": "September 11 is happening again." He thought it was a hijacking to Iran. Another passenger, Yaniv Hayoun, who was received by Netanyahu and quoted from CNN, says he pulled the man out of the cockpit and then pulled the controls back. Zvika Menes claims that three passengers tied up the attacker with seatbelts and headphones. According to several accounts, two pilots who were traveling as passengers took control of the plane.
The mother of a passenger, quoted by Kauno diena, recounts that her daughter told her that everyone thought they were going to die and had heard someone cry "Help!" The passengers are described as "heroes who prevented a great catastrophe."
The press also notes that the motives remain unclear. Kauno diena recalls that initial reports spoke of a disagreement between pilots, and the classification as an attack comes from Israeli officials. No Lithuanian media outlet in the corpus quotes the airline or a Saudi source on this point. A second flydubai plane later took the passengers to Ben Gurion, where it landed at 6:34 PM Lithuanian time, according to AFP television.
SOURCES (3)
- 15minMEDIUM
- Verslo ziniosMEDIUM
- Kauno dienaMEDIUM
