Flydubai flight lands in Saudi Arabia after reported cockpit incident

A flydubai flight travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv landed safely in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after an incident on board, with Israeli media reporting an altercation between the pilots. Flight FZ 1073 diverted to Tabuk Airport, where all passengers were reported safe and accounted for. The airline said the aircraft had experienced an incident while en route but did not provide further details.

Israeli media reported that a fight between the pilots may have triggered a distress signal. Kan public broadcaster and Channel 12 said the Israeli military scrambled fighter jets after concerns about a possible hijacking, but that possibility was later dismissed. The Israeli prime minister’s office said Benjamin Netanyahu had held consultations and was monitoring developments.

It said the incident was under control and that measures were being taken to return Israeli passengers safely to Israel. Neither the airline nor authorities in the countries involved immediately explained what happened inside the aircraft. The Israeli military told AFP it was checking the reports.

Anonymous sources cited by Israeli media said passengers intervened to separate the pilots, and photos showed a passenger with a bloodied shirt. Channel 12 also reported that authorities were examining whether one pilot had attempted to crash the plane and whether the other pilot intervened. Those reports could not be independently verified from the supplied material.

Flightradar data indicated that the aircraft dropped from nearly 34,000 feet to below 17,000 feet in about a minute. The incident occurred amid heightened regional tensions and ahead of Israeli elections expected at the end of October, but the source material did not establish a connection between those developments and the flight.