A flydubai commercial passenger aircraft flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted to and landed in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning after the pilots had an altercation mid-air, sending an emergency code and setting off a hijacking scare in the process.
An Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post a “major disaster was narrowly avoided” amid growing fears that one of the pilots attempted to hijack the plane with the intention of crashing it into the ground.
Additional flight crew, aided by Israelis on board the flight, managed to subdue the pilot and bring him under control, the official told the Post.
During the altercation, the aircraft plunged approximately 4,000 meters in altitude, the official noted.
The aircraft, operating as flight FZ1073 and carrying over 100 Israeli passengers, initially transmitted squawk code 7700, indicating a general emergency, before switching to 7500, which signals unlawful interference, and later reverting to the initial code.
As the incident unfolded, the Israel Air Force (IAF) scrambled fighter jets in preparation for a possible emergency and raised its alert level, Walla reported. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had convened a security meeting with defense officials, The Jerusalem Post learned.
"The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel," the Prime Minister's Office said following the consultations.
Israeli airspace was also temporarily closed and later reopened after the plane landed in Saudi Arabia. It reportedly landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport, also known as Tabuk Airport.
The Emirati airline is set to send another aircraft to Saudi Arabia to bring the passengers back to Tel Aviv.
Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir are continuing to receive updates and are considering the possibility of dispatching Israeli military or civilian aircraft in order to bring the Israelis home, Walla learned.
Yasmin Abu Kasis, whose daughter Miriam was on the flight, said that her daughter had told her that she had heard screaming and that a man took a knife, put the pilot on the floor, and that there was blood everywhere.
It is not the first time a flight between Israel and the UAE has landed in Saudi Arabia. A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Riyadh in September 2025 due to a medical emergency, the Post reported at the time.
Similar incidents elsewhere have led to immediate suspensions.
In 2022, two Air France pilots were suspended after physically confronting each other in the cockpit during a flight from Geneva to Paris.
Crew members had to separate them, and one of the pilots remained in the cockpit until landing. An even more serious incident occurred in 2009 on an Air India flight from Sharjah, UAE, to New Delhi, India, when pilots and crew members exchanged blows, and the altercation spilled over from the cockpit into the aircraft's galley. Two pilots and two crew members were suspended, and police launched an investigation.
All passengers safe, accounted for, flydubai says
“Flydubai can confirm that flight FZ 1073 operating from Dubai International (DXB) to Ben-Gurion Airport (TLV) on 30 September experienced an incident while en route," flydubai said.
"The aircraft has landed safely in Tabuk (TUU), and all passengers are safe and accounted for. The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority. Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities. Further updates will be issued as additional confirmed details become available,” the airline added.
Amir Bohbot, Eli Leon, and Reuters contributed to this report. This is a developing story.