Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said passengers aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv helped prevent a possible disaster on Wednesday after an alleged attack in the cockpit forced the aircraft to divert to Saudi Arabia.
Flight FZ1073 landed safely at Tabuk Airport after a violent incident involving its pilots. Flydubai confirmed that an incident had occurred during the flight and said the aircraft was secured by members of its crew who were travelling on board. All passengers and crew were reported safe and accounted for.
Netanyahu said one of the pilots had stabbed the other and appeared to have attempted to bring down the aircraft. He praised the passengers who intervened, describing their actions as preventing what he called a major disaster. Reuters reported that Saudi authorities were holding and questioning the co pilot.
The precise sequence of events and the alleged motive remain under investigation. The airline has not publicly confirmed Netanyahu’s account of an attempted crash, and authorities have not released a complete official reconstruction of what happened inside the cockpit.
Aircraft makes emergency landing in Tabuk
The Boeing 737 operating FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv when the emergency developed.
The aircraft diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia and landed safely. The airport operator said both the captain and co pilot were injured and taken to hospital after the aircraft arrived.
Flydubai initially described the situation simply as an incident that occurred while the aircraft was en route. The airline confirmed that the plane had landed safely at Tabuk and that passengers were safe and accounted for.
A later statement reported by Gulf Business said the aircraft had been secured by flydubai crew members who were travelling as passengers. Those crew members then helped divert the aircraft to Tabuk.
Flight tracking data provides a picture of the seriousness of the emergency. Flightradar24 reported that the aircraft transmitted emergency signals during the incident, including code 7700 and later code 7500, which is used internationally to indicate unlawful interference with an aircraft. The aircraft subsequently returned to an emergency signal and diverted toward Tabuk.
The aircraft also underwent a dramatic loss of altitude. Reuters reported that tracking data showed it descending by nearly 14,000 feet within about 30 seconds as the situation unfolded.
Passengers describe panic in the cabin
Passengers described confusion and fear as the aircraft began to descend rapidly.
Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon told reporters that the plane appeared to be out of control after a struggle between the pilots. She said passengers became involved after one pilot allegedly attacked the other and that people eventually restrained the person involved.
She also said a doctor among the passengers provided first aid and that other travellers helped care for the injured pilots.
Another passenger account described people hearing shouting from the cockpit before the situation spread into the cabin. Passengers then moved toward the cockpit as the aircraft began losing altitude.
Images from the aircraft showed at least one passenger with blood on his clothing. Other photographs showed travellers, including children, gathered inside the Tabuk airport terminal after the emergency landing.
The accounts from passengers provide important details about what happened inside the cabin, but they do not independently establish the alleged motive of the co pilot or whether the incident was intended as a deliberate attempt to crash the aircraft.
Those questions are now part of the investigation.
Saudi authorities question injured co pilot
Netanyahu said Saudi Arabia had arrested and was questioning the co pilot following the landing.
Reuters reported that Israeli officials described the incident as a possible attempted attack, while stressing that the investigation was continuing. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir publicly described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack.
That characterization has not been independently established by the airline or Saudi investigators.
Early reports also contained conflicting information about whether the incident should be considered a hijacking. Flight tracking data showed the aircraft briefly transmitting the 7500 code associated with unlawful interference, but later reporting indicated that the situation was understood as a violent incident involving the flight crew rather than a conventional hijacking.
The distinction is significant because investigators must establish exactly what happened, who initiated the confrontation, whether anyone attempted to take control of the aircraft and what caused the aircraft to descend so rapidly.
Other pilots reportedly helped regain control
Israeli media reported that two other pilots were travelling as passengers on the aircraft and later assisted in operating the plane.
Their reported involvement has not been described in detail by flydubai, and investigators will need to establish precisely how the aircraft was brought under control.
According to passenger accounts cited in Israeli media, travellers also helped restrain the pilot involved in the confrontation. The intervention happened while the aircraft was experiencing serious flight difficulties.
The presence of qualified pilots among the passengers could have provided additional assistance after the cockpit confrontation, but the exact roles of the crew members and passengers will need to be established through interviews, cockpit evidence and aircraft data.
The aircraft itself will also provide investigators with technical evidence. Flight tracking information can be compared with cockpit voice recordings, flight data recordings, air traffic control communications and emergency transponder signals to reconstruct the sequence of events.
Israeli authorities respond to emergency
The incident triggered a security response in Israel.
Israeli media reported that fighter jets were scrambled after authorities became concerned about the possibility of a hijacking. The Israeli military said it was checking reports about the incident.
Netanyahu's office said the prime minister had held consultations and was monitoring developments as the situation unfolded.
Families gathered at Ben Gurion Airport while passengers remained in Saudi Arabia awaiting arrangements to return to Israel.
One passenger's father, Meir Zohar, told reporters that his son had sent him a message saying he was safe. Other relatives waited for further information while authorities worked to arrange the passengers' return.
Flydubai said it was cooperating with the relevant authorities and working to deal with the consequences of the incident. The airline has not provided a detailed public explanation of the cockpit confrontation.
Investigation will determine what happened
The incident comes during an especially tense period in the Middle East, but investigators will need to separate the circumstances of the flight from the wider regional political situation.
For now, several facts are established. FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when an incident occurred in the cockpit. Both pilots were injured. The aircraft experienced a serious flight emergency, diverted to Saudi Arabia and landed safely at Tabuk. All passengers were accounted for.
The more serious allegations remain under investigation.
Netanyahu has said the co pilot attempted to crash the aircraft and praised passengers for intervening. Israeli officials have described the episode as a possible terrorist attack, while Saudi authorities are questioning the injured co pilot. Flydubai has confirmed the onboard incident but has not publicly confirmed all of the claims made about what happened inside the cockpit.
Investigators now face the task of establishing the sequence from the first confrontation to the aircraft's steep descent, the intervention of passengers and other crew members, and the eventual landing in Tabuk.
What will the cockpit recordings and flight data reveal about the moments that sent FZ1073 into its emergency descent?