A Flydubai aircraft on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing on Wednesday morning at Tabou airport in Saudi Arabia following a physical altercation between two pilots, Flydubai and the Israeli government confirmed. According to data from the flight tracking service Flightradar24, the aircraft sent a distress signal, with the codes '7700' and '7500' indicating a possible hijacking.
The aircraft was cruising at an altitude of 10,400 metres before descending more than 5,200 metres in less than two minutes, turning and diverting towards Saudi Arabia. An analysis of Flightradar24 data by the BBC shows that the aircraft lost altitude abruptly over Saudi Arabia more than two hours after take-off from Dubai, with the distress signal sent ten minutes later. The Tabou airport control tower received the distress call at 08:45 local time and requested an emergency landing; the aircraft landed safely approximately an hour later.
Israeli fighter jets were scrambled due to suspicions of a potential hijacking. One of the pilots was injured with a knife by the other pilot, and the cause of the altercation has not yet been officially disclosed. The captain and co-pilot sustained injuries and were taken to hospital, although the cause of the injuries was not specified. Flight FZ1073 had approximately 150 passengers and crew, mostly Israelis; according to other sources, there were 174 passengers on board, including 27 children.
Israeli authorities suspect the incident may have been a terrorist attack, according to statements from two Israeli officials and one source familiar with the situation. One of the officials stated that the information indicated the co-pilot had attempted to attack the pilot with a knife. One Israeli source suggested that the co-pilot, originally from Oman, intended to crash the aircraft, while the media outlet Walla reported that the pilot under investigation is a citizen of Oman. Investigators are examining the possibility of a terrorist attack as well as the possibility of a suicide attempt by the co-pilot.
The chief pilot, originally from the United Arab Emirates, managed to subdue the co-pilot with the help of Israeli passengers. Several men, including Israelis, stepped forward and subdued the attacker, with one Israeli passenger telling reporters that passengers had helped subdue and tie up one of the pilots. The second crew in the aircraft, which was present due to a routine procedure, took control of the aircraft and managed to force open the cockpit door. A second pilot in civilian clothing was also on board, preventing one of the pilots from taking control of the aircraft, although this information has not been officially confirmed.
A Israeli official told Channel 12 that one pilot had stabbed the other, attempting to replicate the attack of 11 September. A senior Israeli official stated that the incident could have ended like the attack on 11 September 2001 or the Entebbe hostage crisis of 1976, and that the greatest catastrophe had been averted. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz were summoned to security consultations, with Netanyahu cancelling his other engagements to attend the consultations with the highest Israeli security officials.
Passengers on the aircraft are now safe. One Israeli woman told Channel 12 that there was great panic among the passengers, while another Israeli woman recounted hearing shouts on the aircraft, followed by seeing a lot of blood in the cockpit. A passenger named Yasmin Abukasis, who spoke to the media at Ben Gurion Airport, said that her daughter had called her, stating that she had heard screaming on the aircraft as the pilot called for help, and that the aircraft had begun to lose control. Witnesses reported hearing screams, the aircraft descending, blood in the cockpit, and the pilot being stabbed with a pocket knife. A video taken shortly after the altercation shows a passenger with a bloody face speaking to the camera, stating that they were in the midst of a hijacking, that they had subdued the attackers, and were approaching a landing in Tabou, Saudi Arabia, with all passengers safe and sound, except for the pilots. The first images from the flight show a passenger with blood on their shirt.
The images of the aircraft show that part of the tail fin on the Flydubai Boeing 737 is missing. During the incident, the aircraft dived sharply, and Ari Zer, former head of security at the Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet, told the media that the damage was likely caused by the sharp dive of the aircraft, and that the damage was not caused by an external object striking the aircraft.
The Tabou airport is a civil and military base in Saudi Arabia, and the company operating the airport issued a statement. The co-pilot is under investigation for allegedly attempting to take control of the aircraft and crash it, according to some reports, with the intention of committing suicide.
