A flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 bound for Tel Aviv plunged more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds on Wednesday during a violent incident inside the cockpit, before other crew members took control and diverted the aircraft to Saudi Arabia.
Flight FZ1073 landed safely at Tabuk after initially transmitting a general emergency code and later the transponder code used to indicate unlawful interference.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one of the pilots stabbed the other as the aircraft approached Israel and apparently attempted to crash the plane with everyone aboard. He said passengers and crew intervened and prevented a major disaster.
Flydubai has confirmed an altercation on the flight deck but has not confirmed that one of the pilots deliberately attempted to crash the aircraft. The airline said the reasons and motives behind the incident remain under investigation.
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The aircraft involved was A6-FKF, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport.
Flight-tracking data show the aircraft descending 14,125 feet in 29 seconds during the incident. It subsequently stabilized at a lower altitude, turned away from its original route and headed toward Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
The aircraft first transmitted squawk 7700, indicating a general emergency, before changing to 7500, the international transponder code for unlawful interference. It later returned to 7700 before landing.
Passengers entered cockpit
Netanyahu said he spoke with one of the Israeli passengers involved in bringing the situation under control.
According to the Israeli prime minister, a passenger and a crew member entered the cockpit and subdued the attacking pilot. Netanyahu praised those involved and said their actions saved lives.
Flydubai provided a narrower account. The airline said flydubai crew members who were traveling aboard the aircraft secured the plane and diverted it safely to Saudi Arabia.
The precise sequence inside the cockpit has not yet been independently established.
Authorities at Tabuk airport said both the captain and first officer sustained injuries and were taken to a hospital after landing.
Saudi authorities question suspect
Netanyahu said Saudi authorities were interrogating the pilot accused of carrying out the attack. An Israeli official identified the suspect as an Omani national.
No motive has been established. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an attempted jihadist terrorist attack, but flydubai has urged against speculation while the circumstances are investigated.
The 7500 alert also prompted an Israeli military response. Fighter jets were dispatched as authorities initially considered the possibility that an aircraft carrying a large number of Israelis was being hijacked.
Around 170 passengers were aboard FZ1073, most of them Israeli. All passengers were accounted for after the landing.
Flydubai subsequently sent aircraft and replacement crew to Saudi Arabia to continue the passengers’ journey.
The airline has not disclosed further details about the injuries sustained by the pilots or explained how the altercation began. Saudi authorities have also not publicly established whether the aircraft’s rapid descent resulted from deliberate control inputs during the confrontation.
