flydubai FZ1073 Diverts to Saudi Arabia After Cockpit Incident, Hijack Alert and Dramatic Loss of Altitude

A flydubai Boeing 737 MAX operating from Dubai to Tel Aviv was forced to divert to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a serious incident unfolded onboard, which the Israelis are referring to as a 9/11 style terrorist attack attempt.

Flight FZ1073, operating from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) on September 30, 2026, ultimately landed safely at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. flydubai said all passengers were safe and accounted for. The circumstances behind the incident, however, are far more serious than the airline’s initial description of an “incident while en route” suggests.

Israeli officials and multiple Israeli media reports subsequently said that a violent altercation had taken place in the cockpit between the two pilots. Later reports alleged that one pilot stabbed the other and attempted to take control of the aircraft, with passengers and crew intervening.

Those details have not, at the time of writing, been fully confirmed by flydubai or Saudi aviation authorities, and the precise sequence of events remains under investigation. However, images have surfaced of passengers on board being soaked in blood.

What happened on board flydubai FZ1073?

FZ1073 departed Dubai International early on September 30, 2026, Wednesday morning, bound for Tel Aviv. The aircraft was a Boeing 737 MAX 8, identified by Flightradar24 as registration A6-FKF. Flight-tracking data shows the aircraft took off at approximately 03:05 UTC. Around two and a half hours into the flight, the aircraft transmitted transponder code 7700, indicating a general emergency. At approximately 05:38 UTC, FZ1073 briefly transmitted squawk 7500. This is the international transponder code used to indicate unlawful interference with an aircraft and is commonly associated with a hijacking.

Flightradar24 subsequently reported that the aircraft changed back to 7700 before diverting away from Israel and towards Saudi Arabia.

Image of Flight Route via Flightradar24

The aircraft also experienced a very significant loss of altitude. Flight-tracking reports indicate that the 737 MAX descended from around 34,000 feet to approximately 17,000 feet in a very short period.

The precise altitude profile varies slightly across tracking reports, but there is no question the aircraft underwent a dramatic descent during the incident.

The aircraft subsequently turned away from its original destination and headed towards Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia.

Israel scrambled fighter jets

The transmission of squawk 7500 was particularly significant because FZ1073 was heading towards Israel. Israeli authorities initially had to treat the possibility of a hijacking seriously. Israeli fighter aircraft were scrambled as the authorities attempted to establish what was happening aboard the flydubai aircraft.

The Times of Israel reported that the aircraft had initially been believed to be facing a possible hijacking before Israeli security sources determined that the emergency appeared to have originated from an altercation aboard the aircraft.  This is also why the choice of Tabuk as the diversion airport is significant. Rather than continuing towards Tel Aviv after transmitting the unlawful-interference code, the aircraft turned south and landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

What happened inside the cockpit?

The initial reports described a fight between the two pilots. Israeli media subsequently reported that the confrontation was considerably more violent, with allegations that one pilot (First Officer) stabbed the other (Commander) and attempted to take control of the aircraft.

Passenger accounts have also begun to emerge. One passenger reportedly told Israeli media that passengers heard screaming and that, after the cockpit door was opened reportedly by the hurt Captain, they saw blood and an injured pilot. Other accounts said passengers helped restrain the individual involved.

Reuters reported that Israeli officials were investigating the possibility that the incident represented an attempted terrorist attack, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot had stabbed another and apparently attempted to crash the aircraft. (

There have also been reports about the nationalities of the two pilots, including claims that the alleged attacker was Omani and that the other pilot was of Indian origin. These details have circulated widely in Israeli and Indian media but should not yet be treated as an independently established part of the official account. Captain Smit Machchar, who used to fly with SpiceJet, was reported to have been the captain.

Those details will ultimately need to be established through the investigation, cockpit voice recorder, flight data recorder, crew interviews and passenger testimony.

The aircraft landed safely in Tabuk

Despite everything that happened in the air, FZ1073 landed safely at Tabuk, with a large piece of the tail missing.

Saudi authorities said the airport’s air traffic control centre received a distress call from the aircraft at approximately 8:44 a.m. local time and immediately declared an emergency. The aircraft landed at approximately 9:45 a.m. local time.

Both the captain and first officer were injured and were taken to hospital for treatment, according to the airport operator. The terminal staff cared for passengers while making arrangements for their onward transportation. (⁠

flydubai’s initial statement was deliberately limited.

The airline said:

flydubai can confirm that flight FZ 1073 operating from Dubai International (DXB) to Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) on 30 September experienced an incident while en route.

It confirmed that the aircraft had landed safely at Tabuk and that all passengers were safe and accounted for.

The carrier added that its teams were working with the relevant authorities and would issue further updates as additional confirmed information became available.

Around 174 people were onboard, mostly Israeli

Reports put the number of people onboard at approximately 174, including 27 children. The aircraft’s safe arrival in Saudi Arabia created an unusual situation of its own. The passengers had suddenly found themselves stranded in Saudi Arabia, a country with which Israel does not have formal diplomatic relations.

Israeli authorities were reportedly working on arrangements to return the passengers to Israel, while flydubai was expected to arrange a replacement aircraft.

Saudi authorities are now part of the investigation because the aircraft landed on Saudi territory and the alleged perpetrator was taken into Saudi custody, according to reports.

The bigger aviation-security question

Whatever the final explanation turns out to be, the incident raises uncomfortable questions about an aircraft’s vulnerability to an incident involving one of its own flight crew. Commercial aviation has extensive safeguards around cockpit access, pilot identification, security screening and flight-deck procedures.

But the fundamental assumption of modern airline operations remains that the two pilots in the cockpit are there to operate the aircraft safely. An incident in which one flight crew member allegedly becomes a threat to the other crew member — and potentially to the aircraft — is therefore an unusually difficult security scenario.

The aviation industry has dealt with incidents involving suicidal pilots before, most notably the Germanwings Flight 9525 tragedy in 2015. But the circumstances of the flydubai incident appear materially different, with the emerging reports involving an alleged physical confrontation and an attempt to seize control of the aircraft.

It would therefore be premature to draw conclusions about changes to cockpit-security procedures until investigators establish what actually happened.

Bottomline

For now, the key facts are relatively straightforward. flydubai flight FZ1073 departed Dubai for Tel Aviv on September 30, 2026. The Boeing 737 MAX transmitted a 7700 general emergency signal and subsequently a 7500 unlawful-interference signal. The aircraft descended sharply and diverted away from Israel. Israeli fighter aircraft were scrambled amid fears that the aircraft could have been hijacked.

FZ1073 subsequently landed safely at Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, with other pilots who were also on board.  All passengers were reported safe and accounted for, while both pilots were injured and taken to hospital.

Lots of questions here, but the most important one: how did a knife make it on board?

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