Skies Over Saudi Arabia — September 30, 2026
A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children, made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a violent struggle broke out in the cockpit and the Boeing 737 MAX suddenly plunged thousands of feet. Israeli authorities are treating it as a possible terror attack, though key facts, including who attacked whom, remain in dispute.
What Happened in the Air
Flight FZ1073 transmitted the emergency codes 7700 and 7500, the latter used internationally to signal unlawful interference aboard an aircraft. Flight-tracking data showed the plane dropped from roughly 34,000 feet to about 17,000 feet in under two minutes. The aircraft was stabilized and diverted to Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.
Passengers described screaming and a sudden dive before the cockpit door was opened and blood was visible inside. One passenger told Israeli media that someone had stabbed a pilot with a pocketknife. Another told i24NEWS she screamed the Jewish prayer "Shema Yisrael" as passengers and crew helped subdue the person involved in the struggle. A doctor and nurse on board treated the wounded pilot.
Conflicting Accounts of Who Did What
Here is where the reporting splits. According to N12, citing Israeli security assessments and passenger testimony, the co-pilot repeatedly stabbed the captain before crew and passengers broke into the cockpit and subdued him. But Ynet, citing Israeli officials, reported that the pilot who was stabbed is believed to be the one who may have tried to crash the aircraft, meaning the other pilot fought back in self-defense. Channel 14 has separately reported that the pilot suspected of putting the plane into the dive is an Omani citizen, while the other pilot is Emirati. Other Israeli outlets, citing different sourcing, have described the captain as Russian and the co-pilot as Ukrainian.
None of these details, the nationalities, or which pilot attacked which, have been independently confirmed. Reuters says it has confirmed only that a physical altercation took place between the pilots and that one passenger described a violent struggle involving a knife. Flydubai has not publicly confirmed which pilot attacked the other or commented on any terror motive.
Israel's Assessment
Israeli journalist Amit Segal reported that Israel is treating the incident as a "full-fledged terrorist attack," citing a senior Israeli official who said "an extremely serious disaster was averted." Israel Hayom similarly reported that officials have defined the incident, initially described as a fight between the pilots, as an attempted attack based on security assessments and passenger testimony. These remain Israeli assessments rather than findings from a completed investigation.
What Happens Now
Flydubai has confirmed the aircraft experienced an incident en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv and said it has opened an investigation. The airline said it would send a replacement aircraft from Dubai to Tabuk to fly the passengers on to Israel. Flydubai operates daily flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv under the 2020 Abraham Accords; Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have diplomatic relations, which is part of why the diversion to Tabuk drew particular attention.
This is a rapidly developing story with conflicting early reports. The pilots' nationalities, which pilot initiated the altercation, and the terrorism assessment have not been independently confirmed by flydubai or investigators as of publication.