A flydubai passenger flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after the pilots became involved in a physical altercation, according to Israeli officials. The plane transmitted emergency signals while flying over Jordanian airspace, prompting an initial security response that included scrambling of Israeli warplanes. It later landed safely at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, with the airline confirming all passengers were safe and accounted for. Israeli authorities stated the event was not a hijacking.
Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 carrying around 150 to 180 passengers mostly from Israel, sent a general emergency signal followed minutes later by one indicating possible unlawful interference, flight tracking data showed. The aircraft then returned to the general emergency signal before landing. Data indicated the plane had rapidly lost nearly 14,000 feet of altitude in under 30 seconds prior to the first signal. An Israeli official speaking anonymously said the pilots transmitted the alerts after fighting with each other. It remained unclear whether either pilot sent the signals intentionally.
The airline described the event only as an “incident” en route and said the plane diverted and landed without further issues. A spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister’s office said the matter was viewed as a different kind of incident rather than a hijacking. The prime minister’s office added that the situation was under control and steps were being taken to return the Israeli passengers home. Israeli military leaders, including the chief of staff, held an assessment of the event with senior officers.
One passenger’s relative reported hearing accounts of screaming aboard and a man with a knife forcing a pilot to the floor amid blood. An Israeli passenger told journalists that the crew sought help and that other passengers assisted in restraining one of the pilots. Israeli media circulated an image said to show a blood-stained shirt from inside the cabin, though it could not be independently verified. The flight path normally crosses Saudi and Jordanian airspace on a route that has grown popular among Israeli travelers following the normalization of ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel six years earlier. A similar flydubai flight had made an emergency stop in Saudi Arabia the previous year for a medical reason.
The diversion triggered a significant security alert in Israel, which maintains no formal diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia. Authorities continue efforts to repatriate the passengers while investigations into the cockpit altercation proceed.
