A flydubai plane flying FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after two pilots got into a fight in the cockpit mid-flight. Israel's Channel 12 says one pilot is Russian and the other Ukrainian. The incident happened on the morning of September 30. About 180 people were on board the Boeing 737 MAX 8, registered A6-FKF, most of them Israeli citizens.
Alarm in the skies over Jordan
About 90 minutes after take-off from Dubai, the crew sent code 7700 — a general emergency signal. Shortly after, they sent code 7500, which in aviation means unlawful interference or a possible hijacking. The code alone does not say what was actually happening on board. The plane then switched back to code 7700 and, instead of Tel Aviv, landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz airport near Tabuk in northwest Saudi Arabia. According to ynetnews, there were 174 passengers on board, including 27 children. Saudi Arabia and Israel have no official diplomatic ties, but flydubai flies this route every day.
The hijacking code put Israel's air force on alert, and fighter jets took off to track the plane. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an urgent security meeting with defence minister Israel Katz, and the military assessed the situation. Police set up a joint command centre with the Shin Bet and Mossad. The Israeli prime minister's office later said it was not a hijacking.
Flydubai confirms: the pilots fought
The airline confirms the plane was diverted because of a dispute between the pilots and rejects the hijacking version. What exactly caused the clash is still not clear. Channel 12 reports one pilot is from Russia and the other from Ukraine, but adds that, at the time of publication, there was no independent confirmation of what actually happened in the cockpit. Russia has been waging a full-scale war on Ukraine since February 2022, which is why the two pilots' nationalities immediately stood out.
An Israeli official described what happened as an internal, administrative matter on board, not an attempted hijacking. An aviation official warned that what really happened in the cockpit is unlikely to be known for sure until the plane lands and the authorities finish checking.
The passengers stayed on the plane while flydubai sent another aircraft to pick them up from Tabuk and fly them to Tel Aviv. Saudi authorities plan to check the cargo hold and question the crew before the plane can take off again.