Archive · 30 Sep 2026
Flydubai Flight Diverts After Cockpit Fight and Hijack Scare
A Flydubai plane was flying from Dubai to Israel when something went wrong in the cockpit.
Passengers said they heard shouting and saw blood after the cockpit door opened.
Some passengers reported that one pilot stabbed the other with a knife.
They also said the plane suddenly dropped a long distance, which frightened everyone.
The plane sent emergency signals, including one often connected with hijacking.
Because officials did not immediately know what was happening, Israel sent fighter jets to check on the aircraft.
The plane landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Officials later said the main assessment was that the pilots had fought, while the more serious claims remained unconfirmed.
Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia after an inflight cockpit incident.
Passengers reported screams, blood and an alleged stabbing, but the detailed accounts were not independently confirmed by authorities or the airline.
Flight-tracking data showed the Boeing 737 MAX descending roughly 17,000 feet during a sharp drop about two and a half hours after takeoff.
The aircraft transmitted emergency codes 7700 and briefly 7500, prompting Israel to scramble fighter jets amid initial fears of a hijacking.
Flydubai said all passengers were safe and accounted for and arranged another aircraft to take them onward to Israel.
- Who
- Passengers and crew aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073; the reported confrontation involved the two pilots.
- What
- The flight diverted to Saudi Arabia after a reported cockpit fight, emergency transmissions and a sharp descent.
- When
- September 30, 2026, about two and a half hours after departure, according to the reports.
- Where
- The aircraft was traveling from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport and landed at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.
- Why
- Israeli and other officials attributed the emergency to an apparent physical altercation between the pilots, while reports of an attempted hijacking or crash remained unconfirmed.
Official Assessment
Passenger Accounts and Unconfirmed Reports
Nature of the incident
Official Assessment
Israeli officials and reports citing security sources said the incident was not believed to be a hijacking and was apparently caused by a physical fight or dispute between the pilots. Flydubai described it as an inflight incident.
Passenger Accounts and Unconfirmed Reports
Passengers described screams, blood in the cockpit and an alleged stabbing. Some reports claimed one pilot tried to take control of the aircraft or crash it, but those details were not independently confirmed.
Reason for the military response
Official Assessment
Israel scrambled fighter jets because emergency codes were transmitted and authorities could not immediately establish what was happening aboard the aircraft.
Passenger Accounts and Unconfirmed Reports
The brief 7500 transmission, steep descent and reports of a cockpit struggle made passengers and officials fear that the aircraft had been hijacked.
Pilot identities and injuries
Official Assessment
The reports did not provide a consistently confirmed official account of the pilots' identities or the full extent of their injuries.
Passenger Accounts and Unconfirmed Reports
Media reports variously described the pilots as Russian and Ukrainian or as an Omani co-pilot and Indian captain; passengers said one pilot was stabbed and seriously injured. These accounts were inconsistent and unconfirmed.
- Flight
- Flydubai FZ1073, also identified in reports as FDB1073
- Route
- Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel
- People aboard
- Reports estimated between 174 and 180 passengers, with one report mentioning 27 children
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737 MAX
- Diversion airport
- Tabuk Airport, Saudi Arabia
- Emergency codes
- 7700, a general emergency signal, followed briefly by 7500, associated with hijacking or unlawful interference
- Passenger transfer
- Flydubai said a second aircraft would take passengers from Saudi Arabia to Israel
Sources
'Heard Screams, Then Plane Dived': Flyers Recount flydubai Flight Horror
Dubai-Tel Aviv Flight News Live Updates: Flydubai passengers recall mid-air horror; ‘there was blood in the cockpit’
Mid-Air Mayhem: Pilot 'Stabbed' On Flydubai Flight, Plane Dives 17,000 Feet; Jets Scrambled
In flydubai Scare, Russian, Ukrainian Pilots Fought In Cockpit: Report
Flydubai Hijack Scare: ‘We’ve Subdued The Terrorists, We Need Help,’ Passenger Says After Cockpit Fight