A Ukrainian And A Russian Saved The Plane: What Is Known About The Emergency On The Flight To Tel Aviv
- 30.09.2026, 16:18
Israeli media are reporting on an attempt to hijack a plane.
A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was unexpectedly diverted to Saudi Arabia following a dispute between the pilots, Israeli officials told local media.
The Flydubai Boeing 737 Max 8, operating Flight FZ1073 from Dubai International Airport to Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, landed in the city of Tabuk in northeastern Saudi Arabia.
There were about 150 people on board, most of whom were Israelis, according to the BBC.
Local media, citing representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, reported that the distress signal was apparently sent following an argument between the aircraft’s captain and the co-pilot.
The plane sent out a distress signal about two hours after takeoff, according to Flightradar24. The flight departed at 03:05 UTC (which coincides with Greenwich Mean Time) with a 20-minute delay.
Passengers told local media that they feared for their lives because the plane began to lose altitude rapidly during the incident.
According to Flightradar24, at 5:22 UTC, the plane rapidly descended over Saudi Arabian airspace from 30,875 to 16,750 feet (4.3 km) in just 29 seconds.
Emergency code 7700, indicating a “general emergency,” was transmitted at approximately 05:31 UTC. Later, Flightradar24 reported on X that at 05:38, another distress signal—7500, meaning “unauthorized interference”—was sent, indicating an attempted hijacking or seizure of the aircraft.
At 05:40, the plane briefly entered Jordanian airspace, and a few minutes later returned to Saudi Arabia, where it began its descent for landing.
At 06:11, the aircraft began its descent again, apparently heading toward the city of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. Shortly thereafter, location data became temporarily unavailable until 06:58, when the plane reappeared at Tabuk Airport.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, a conflict arose between the first and second pilots, escalating into a fight that continued until one of them lost consciousness.
One of the Israeli passengers on board told reporters that the crew asked for help, after which the passengers helped restrain one of the pilots and tie him to his seat.
An unnamed passenger told the Jerusalem Post that one of the pilots was stabbed by the other pilot, but passengers in the front of the plane helped force the attacker out of the cockpit.
According to him, there were two other pilots on board, in the rear of the plane. “I shouted at them to run and take control of the plane,” the passenger told the Jerusalem Post.
The passenger also reported that a dentist on board provided emergency medical care to the injured pilot.
“We realized that the pilots had lost control,” — one of the passengers said in an interview with the publication. According to her, one of the pilots suffered serious stab wounds before the attacker was pulled away from him.
“Some people’s shirts were covered in blood,” she said.
According to the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, another flight crew—a Russian and a Ukrainian—was on board as passengers and ultimately managed to safely land the plane in Saudi Arabia.
Currently, all FlyDubai flight crews are undergoing a thorough background check.
Meanwhile, Israel has sent a plane to Saudi Arabia to evacuate its citizens stranded there; they will be taken to Tel Aviv, their original destination.