The Israeli government believes that the incident that occurred today on a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel—which changed course and landed in Saudi Arabia after issuing adistress signal, may have been an attempted “terrorist attack” by one of the pilots, according to two Israeli officials.
The two officials said the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain before the cabin crew entered the cockpit and took control of the aircraft.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Canadian Anne Carson Wins the Nobel Prize in Literature
A Look Back at Apollon’s International Soccer Players
Earlier, an Israeli official had told Reuters that the aircraft had sent out distress signals after the pilots got into a fight with each other.
According to passenger accounts, the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and attempted to take control of the aircraft. During the altercation, the plane experienced a sudden loss of altitude. Crew members and passengers managed to subdue the assailant and bring the situation under control.
During the incident, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 initially transmitted code 7700 (general emergency) and then the code 7500, which indicates unauthorized interference with the aircraft.
Israel even scrambled fighter jets during the incident. The aircraft landed safely in Tabuk. According to Flydubai, all passengers are in good health. The two pilots were injured and taken to the hospital.
A video circulating on social media shows a bloodied passenger saying that they thwarted a hijacking and that they need help, as the plane was diverted and would land in Saudi Arabia.
In another video, passengers can be heard screaming as the aircraft appears to be losing altitude rapidly.
BREAKING: A pilot aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv attacked the other pilot and attempted to seize control of the aircraft in a terrorist attack.
The plane, carrying 174 Israeli passengers, plunged 14,000 feet before the situation was brought under control and… pic.twitter.com/FAgyt7dOpK
Advertisement— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) September 30, 2026
Flight FZ1073, which departed from Dubai, headed toward Saudi Arabia through Jordanian airspace and made an emergency landing atat Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
The Tabuk Airport administration announced that “it received a distress signal at 8:44 a.m. local time from flight FZ1073, requesting an emergency landing,” as noted in a post by X Cluster2, the company that manages the airport. The aircraft landed “without incident” an hour later, the post added.
Shortly thereafter, another Flydubai flight operating the same route (Dubai–Tel Aviv) changed course and returned to the UAE’s capital, according to the flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
SEE ALSO: PHOTO: Shocking revelations about the Flydubai flight: One pilot wanted to crash the plane and stabbed the other | AlphaNews
Source: APE-MPE
