Full Breakdown
Flydubai Passengers Mobilize Lawsuits Over September 29 Incident
By Drooid · · How we work
Flight Incident and Passenger Response
On September 29, a Flydubai aircraft bound for Tel Aviv experienced a violent cockpit confrontation that passengers later described as an attempted hijacking. According to passenger accounts, the co-pilot stabbed the captain, after which the plane entered a steep dive before landing safely at Ben Gurion Airport. Passengers formed a WhatsApp group immediately after landing and began coordinating a collective legal response.
Steering Committee Formation
The passengers appointed a steering committee to manage the prospective lawsuits. Tzvika Manes, CEO of underwriting firm Barak Leumi and the individual who helped restrain the co-pilot, was named head of the committee. Committee members include Singapore-based lawyer Tal Eisenberg and fellow passengers Daniel Schlichter, Itay Perlman and Shir Maor. Approximately 100 of the flight’s 174 passengers have granted the committee powers of attorney to act on their behalf; the remaining passengers have not yet decided whether to join the group effort.
Legal Strategy and Potential Defendants
The committee has consulted Israeli law firms and plans to meet with international counsel before selecting representation. It intends to file claims seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation. Potential defendants identified by the committee include Israel’s Ministry of Transportation, the United Arab Emirates’ counterpart ministry, and analogous agencies in other countries, reflecting the presence of foreign nationals among the passengers.
Regulatory Context
A preliminary review by the consulted law firms highlighted that a specific provision of the Abraham Accords—governing civil aviation between Israel and the United Arab Emirates—covers flight-operation regulations. Passengers are questioning whether the Flydubai service complied with those provisions, adding a complex regulatory dimension to the litigation.
Impact and Next Steps
The steering committee will present preliminary legal conclusions and recommendations to the represented passengers after completing its consultations with both Israeli and international firms. The coordinated effort marks an unprecedented collective legal action stemming from an alleged in-flight hijacking attempt, and it may set precedents for how cross-border aviation incidents are addressed under existing bilateral agreements.