A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a violent cockpit confrontation sent the plane plunging more than 17,000 feet in under two minutes.
Flight FZ1073, carrying roughly 150 passengers, most of them Israeli, departed Dubai International Airport bound for Ben Gurion Airport but was diverted to Tabuk Airport in northeastern Saudi Arabia on September 30. Israeli officials said that an altercation between the pilot and co-pilot triggered the emergency, though passenger accounts painted a more chaotic and bloody scene.
Yasmin Abukasis, who was waiting at Ben Gurion Airport for her daughter Miriam, said her daughter called her from the plane during the crisis. “The plane start to lose control. So all the people, they scream, they think they are going,” she told the AP. Yasmin said Miriam described a man with a knife forcing one of the pilots to the floor, with blood everywhere, while two other pilots took control and passengers rushed toward the attacker.
Flightradar24 data showed the aircraft cruising at 34,000 feet shortly before 8:21 a.m. Local time, roughly two hours after takeoff. Within two minutes, it had dropped more than 17,000 feet, with altitude fluctuating significantly for the remainder of the journey to Tabuk. The tracking site noted on X that the plane transmitted general emergency code 7700 at approximately 5:31 a.m. UTC, followed seven minutes later by code 7500, which signals unlawful interference, though this second code was not visible on its website. The aircraft briefly entered Jordanian airspace before looping back into Saudi airspace six minutes later, then descended again at 6:11 a.m. UTC on an apparent course for Tabuk, with location data reappearing at the airport at 6:58 a.m.
A female passenger told Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom that the moment passengers realized the plane was descending was “very stressful.” “We understood the pilots lost control,” she said. She claimed one pilot suffered serious stab wounds before the attacker could be dragged off him.
Another passenger told the Jerusalem Post that one pilot stabbed another, and that passengers near the front helped force the attacker from the cockpit. Two other pilots were seated at the back of the aircraft. “I shouted at them to run and take control of the plane,” the passenger said. The injured pilot reportedly received life-saving care from a dentist on board.
An Israeli passenger also told journalists that crew members asked for help, and that passengers then assisted in tackling one of the pilots and tying him down.
The outlet report quoted an official saying the fight initially broke out in the cockpit involving both pilots, though the cause remained unclear. Another official said Israel scrambled warplanes fearing a hijacking of a jet carrying its citizens.
Flydubai said in a statement that the flight “experienced an incident” while en route. “The aircraft has landed safely in Tabuk Airport (TUU) and all passengers are safe and accounted for,” the airline said, adding that its teams were working closely with relevant authorities.
Unnamed Israeli officials spoke to local media about the severity of the situation. “A very serious disaster was averted,” one told Channel 12. Another told the Jerusalem Post that a “major disaster was narrowly avoided.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the situation was under control and that efforts were underway to return the Israeli passengers home from Saudi Arabia.
The emergency landing in Tabuk marked a rare instance of Israeli citizens on Saudi soil, as the two countries do not maintain formal diplomatic relations, though cooperation has increased in recent years.
Flydubai has not provided additional details about the cockpit incident or the condition of the injured pilot.