Updated: Flydubai Flight Diverted After Pilot Fight, Possible Suicide Attempt Reported
Israeli media say passengers intervened in the cockpit altercation and one pilot may have tried to crash the plane, which plunged nearly 17,000 feet in a minute before landing safely in Saudi Arabia
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — A flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a reported physical altercation between its pilots triggered distress signals, with Israeli media reporting that passengers intervened to separate the crew and that authorities were investigating whether one pilot may have attempted to crash the aircraft.
Flight FZ1073, traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, landed safely at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia after what flydubai described only as an “incident” while the aircraft was en route. The airline said all passengers were safe and accounted for.
Israeli media, citing anonymous sources, reported that a fight had broken out between the pilots and apparently led to the activation of emergency signals.
Israel's Kan public broadcaster and Channel 12 reported that Israeli fighter jets were scrambled amid initial fears of a possible hijacking, a scenario that was later ruled out by Israeli authorities.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he held consultations over the incident and was monitoring developments, adding that the situation was under control and that measures were being taken to return Israeli passengers safely to Israel.
Bloodied T-shirt
Israeli media, citing anonymous sources, reported that passengers aboard the aircraft stepped in to separate the pilots during the altercation. Photos published by Israeli outlets appeared to show a passenger wearing a bloodied T-shirt.
Channel 12 reported that authorities were investigating whether one of the pilots had attempted a possible suicide by trying to crash the plane, with the other pilot apparently intervening to prevent the aircraft from going down.
The reports have not been independently verified, and neither flydubai nor authorities involved have publicly confirmed those details.
Flight-tracking data cited in reports showed a dramatic loss of altitude during the flight. According to data from Flightradar, the aircraft descended from nearly 34,000 feet at 05:21 GMT to less than 17,000 feet at 05:22 GMT.
Reuters separately reported that the aircraft dropped about 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before landing safely in Tabuk.
The aircraft transmitted an emergency signal before sending another signal associated with possible unlawful interference, prompting the Israeli security response and the scrambling of fighter jets.
The flight ultimately diverted toward Saudi Arabia and landed safely in Tabuk.
The incident comes amid heightened security tensions across the Middle East following the regional war that erupted in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. It also occurred weeks before Israel's scheduled elections at the end of October.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu said there were “indications” that Israel's enemies could seek to carry out attacks ahead of the elections, while the opposition accused him of using fear to influence the political climate.
The circumstances surrounding the flydubai incident remain under investigation, with authorities yet to publicly provide a full account of what happened inside the cockpit.