On Wednesday, a routine commercial flight operated by low-cost carrier Flydubai, traveling from its hub in Dubai to Tel Aviv, was forced to divert to an airport in Saudi Arabia following a violent confrontation between the two pilots on board that left both crew members injured and triggered multiple emergency alerts, according to international aviation and law enforcement officials.
The incident unfolded on Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 jet carrying an estimated 160 to 180 passengers, approximately two and a half hours after the aircraft departed Dubai International Airport. Publicly available flight tracking data captured an abrupt, sharp decline in the plane’s altitude, with the jet losing nearly 14,000 feet of elevation in under 30 seconds before the crew transmitted the first emergency signal to air traffic controllers.
Multiple on-scene passenger accounts and early reports confirm that a physical altercation broke out inside the locked cockpit between the captain and first officer, with some witnesses describing one pilot as having sustained serious injuries in what has been alleged to be a stabbing attack. As the aircraft traveled through Jordanian airspace following the initial confrontation, a second emergency signal was sent out, this time warning of potential unlawful interference with the flight. After issuing that warning, the crew retransmitted a general emergency alert before altering their flight path to head toward Saudi Arabian airspace.
After the diversion, the aircraft landed without further incident at Tabuk Airport at 9:45 a.m. local time, according to official airport logs. Local Saudi aviation authorities confirmed in an official statement that both the captain and co-pilot had suffered injuries in the altercation and were immediately transported to a local hospital for medical care. All passengers on board were provided with assistance and accommodations after landing, while Saudi law enforcement and aviation safety officials launched a full investigation into the incident, local Saudi publication Saudi Gazette reported.
Initially, the transmission of emergency signals for unlawful interference sparked widespread fears that the flight had been hijacked, prompting Israeli government officials to immediately activate emergency protocols to respond to the developing crisis. Subsequent official updates, however, clarified that the emergency stemmed from an internal confrontation between the flight’s two pilots, not an external hijacking attempt by outside actors.
Flydubai released an official confirmation shortly after the landing, verifying that the aircraft had touched down safely in Tabuk and that all passengers on board were unharmed and accounted for. The airline noted that it is collaborating fully with all relevant national and international authorities investigating the incident, and pledged to release additional public updates as more confirmed details emerge.
International news agency Reuters has cited unnamed official sources indicating that the individual who initiated the altercation is of Omani heritage. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released an official statement claiming that one pilot deliberately stabbed the other with the explicit intent of crashing the aircraft. Netanyahu joined Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in labeling the incident a deliberate terrorist attack.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office added in a subsequent update that the situation is now fully under control, and that the government is working alongside Flydubai and Saudi officials to coordinate arrangements to transport all passengers bound for Tel Aviv to their original destination. As of Wednesday, the exact circumstances and full sequence of events leading up to the cockpit altercation remain under active investigation, with at least one major news outlet noting that conflicting accounts of the attacker’s motive have emerged in early reporting.