A Flydubai flight scheduled to fly from Dubai to Tel Aviv with dozens of Israelis on board sent conflicting emergency signals Wednesday before ultimately landing at a regional airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Flydubai passenger's bloodied shirt reveals scale of cockpit struggle © X
A Flydubai flight scheduled to fly from Dubai to Tel Aviv with dozens of Israelis on board sent conflicting emergency signals Wednesday before ultimately landing at a regional airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
While the incident initially raised fears of a hijacking, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly stated it was not an "abduction."
Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying roughly 150 to 180 passengers, departed Dubai International Airport at 03:05 UTC for what was expected to be a routine journey to Ben Gurion Airport.
According to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24, the aircraft began transmitting squawk code 7700, the international signal for a general emergency, at 05:31 UTC while flying over Saudi Arabia. Seven minutes later, at 05:38 UTC, the transponder switched to code 7500, the code specifically used to signal unlawful interference or a hijacking, before reverting back to 7700.
The aircraft then turned away from Israel, descended sharply, and briefly disappeared from public flight-tracking platforms before reappearing near Tabuk, where it ultimately landed safely. Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled in response to the alert, and Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly held an urgent security consultation as the situation unfolded.
Israeli security officials cited by Haaretz said the emergency signal had been triggered "following a physical altercation" between crew members in the cockpit, rather than any external security threat.
Flydubai confirmed all passengers were safe and accounted for, saying in a statement that its teams were "working closely with the relevant authorities" and that further updates would follow as confirmed details became available.
Unconfirmed reports of a pilot's attempted crash
There are unconfirmed reports from Hebrew media, based on testimonies from passengers aboard the flight, alleging that one of the two pilots attempted to crash the aircraft and was physically stopped by the second pilot, with the help of passengers.
These accounts have not been officially verified by Flydubai, Israeli authorities, or Saudi aviation officials, and the precise sequence of events inside the cockpit remains unclear.
Flydubai's chief executive said the airline would send a replacement aircraft from Dubai to Saudi Arabia to collect the passengers and continue their journey to Israel.
UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and met with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the kingdom's defence minister, the first visit by a senior UAE official to the kingdom since a deep rift emerged between the two Gulf powers last year.
Qatar on Tuesday denounced "Israeli statements regarding the annexation of areas in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip," calling them "a flagrant challenge to international law and legitimate international resolutions,".
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using the same campaign playbook that has served him for decades as he tries to retain power in an election next month, presenting himself as the only person who can keep Israelis safe in a hostile region.
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