Flydubai flight FZ1073 left Dubai for Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning and never reached Israel. The Boeing 737 MAX 8, identified in flight tracking reports as A6-FKF, made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after a violent confrontation in the cockpit, a sudden drop in altitude, and a string of distress signals that briefly looked like a hijacking. Israeli officials say the first officer stabbed the captain and tried to take control of the aircraft or crash it. Flydubai has not endorsed that account.
The airline confirmed only that an altercation happened on the flight deck, that other Flydubai crew members already travelling on the flight secured the plane, and that it landed safely. The airline said the reasons and motives were still unknown and asked the public not to jump ahead of the investigation. The flight departed Dubai International at 03:05 UTC. Israeli media reported 174 passengers on board, including 27 children.
Reuters said more than 170 of those travellers were Israeli. Flydubai has not published its own passenger count. The jet climbed to about 34,000 feet. At 05:21 UTC, over northwestern Saudi Arabia, tracking data showed the altitude start to swing hard.
Flightradar24 data cited by Reuters showed a drop of nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. CNN said the same data set showed a descent of about 17,400 feet from 34,000 feet to around 16,600 feet in just over two minutes. The aircraft later settled near 15,000 feet, with the altitude still bouncing and the speed changing. The transponder first sent code 7700, the general emergency signal.
Minutes later it sent code 7500, used for unlawful interference. It later switched back to 7700. Israel scrambled fighter jets. The aircraft briefly crossed into Jordanian airspace, turned around, and headed southwest to Tabuk.
Tabuk airport said controllers received a distress call at 8:44 a.m. local time and that the plane landed at 9:45 a.m., or 06:45 UTC. Flightradar24 logged its last tracking signal at 06:58 UTC. The airport said the captain and first officer were hurt and taken to hospital. Passengers were treated and no serious passenger injuries were reported.
A senior Flydubai official later told The National the rudder was damaged. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a highly severe security incident. He said one pilot stabbed the other and apparently tried to crash the plane. He said passengers and a crew member broke into the cockpit after the jet began to dive and found the attacking pilot trying to sabotage the systems.
Netanyahu said those people saved many lives. He also said Saudi authorities would question the first officer. Defence Minister Israel Katz called the episode an attempted jihadist terror attack and said early information pointed to an effort to bring the plane down. That is Israel’s working description.
Flydubai, the UAE, and Saudi officials have not confirmed a terrorist motive. Israeli officials told Reuters and other outlets the suspected attacker was an Omani first officer. Some Israeli and Indian reports said the wounded captain was Indian. Flydubai refused to give the pilots’ nationalities.
Other early reports floated different countries of origin. Those details remain unconfirmed outside the Israeli briefings. Passengers described screaming and blood. Yasmin Abukasis said her daughter Miriam, who was on the flight, heard shouts and saw a man with a knife force one of the pilots to the floor.
Other passengers said people near the front ran forward once the aircraft started to dive. Doron Spielman, a spokesman for Netanyahu’s office, said the wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door. Passengers then saw the injured pilot on the floor and the other pilot striking the control panel. Spielman said a passenger subdued the attacker.
Flydubai said company crew travelling on the flight took over and landed the jet. Reuters reported that a reserve Flydubai crew on board flew the plane into Tabuk. Videos from the cabin showed wounded crew on the floor. Reuters said it verified one of those videos.
Passengers spent about eight hours on the ground before leaving on a replacement Flydubai aircraft for Israel. Netanyahu met returnees at Ben Gurion Airport. Saudi authorities, according to Netanyahu, took the alleged attacker into custody. Both pilots remained in hospital in Saudi Arabia.
No detailed public medical update on the captain had been issued by Wednesday evening. The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority said it was investigating a security incident that forced the diversion. It said some crew were injured and treated in Saudi Arabia. Flydubai sent two replacement aircraft to Tabuk and said the rest of its network was unaffected.
Israel’s Transport Ministry opened a joint inquiry with the defence establishment. Netanyahu ordered tighter checks on pilots flying into Israel. No official has explained how a knife got into the cockpit. The flight recorders had not been publicly analysed by Wednesday evening.
The drop in altitude, the emergency codes, the landing in Tabuk, the injured pilots, and the intervention by passengers and extra crew are supported by tracking data, airport statements, airline statements, and witness accounts. The claim that this was a planned terrorist attack is still an allegation from Israeli officials, not a completed finding from every government involved.
