This story updates our earlier report on the fight between pilots on a flydubai plane that forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. At the time, we relied on the first media reports saying one pilot was Russian and the other Ukrainian. The claim drew instant attention because of Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine. Since then, Israeli officials and media have given different accounts of who the crew members are, and the investigation is still going on.
New information shows the two pilots are not Russian and Ukrainian, as first reported in the hours after the incident. The second pilot is a citizen of Oman. Israeli media give conflicting accounts of the captain's nationality — some say he is from the United Arab Emirates, others say India — and neither version has been officially confirmed yet. Channel 12 had earlier reported the pilots were from Russia and Ukraine, but the channel itself noted in its first report that other sources had not confirmed the information.
The incident happened on the morning of Wednesday, September 30, during flydubai flight FZ1073, the regular service from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The Boeing 737 MAX 8, registered A6-FKF, was carrying 174 passengers, most of them Israeli, including 27 children.
The latest information says the co-pilot — thought to have tried to take control of the plane and possibly bring it down — was stabbed during the struggle in the cockpit. The captain, helped by Israeli passengers who stepped in, managed to get control of the situation and restrain his colleague.
About 90 minutes after taking off from Dubai, while flying over Jordan, the crew sent code 7700, the international signal for a general emergency. Shortly after, they sent code 7500, which in aviation means unlawful interference or a possible hijacking, though it does not by itself show what is actually happening on board. The plane then switched back to code 7700 and, instead of landing in Tel Aviv, made an emergency landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz airport near Tabuk, in northwest Saudi Arabia. The hijack code put Israel's air force on alert, and fighter jets took off at once to track the plane. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an emergency security meeting with defence minister Israel Katz, while the military assessed the situation. Police set up a joint command centre with the Shin Bet security service and Mossad. Israel's prime minister's office later said it was not a hijacking after all, and flydubai confirmed the real cause was a dispute between the two pilots that turned into a fight.
The latest on the case (according to media reports):
- Flydubai has opened a formal investigation and notified Israeli authorities right away.
- Israel has joined Saudi authorities in the investigation, and the two sides are working together to establish exactly what happened.
- Israel's national airline El Al has said it is ready to send a backup flight to bring the passengers back from Tabuk.
- Another Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight turned back the same day, though it is not yet clear why.
Saudi Arabia and Israel have no formal diplomatic ties, but flydubai still flies the Dubai–Tel Aviv route every day without a break.