Flydubai flight triggers hijack alert after reported cockpit struggle

A Flydubai aircraft travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv triggered a hijacking scare on Wednesday after transmitting emergency signals during the flight, according to initial accounts cited by India Today and Reuters. Flight FZ1073, carrying about 180 passengers, first transmitted code 7700, the international signal for a general emergency. Seconds later, it transmitted code 7500, which indicates a possible hijacking.

Flight-tracking data showed that the aircraft descended 17,400 feet in slightly more than two minutes. The source material does not provide details about the aircraft’s subsequent route or confirm the circumstances of its landing. Initial assessments and reports suggested that a fight in the cockpit between the pilots may have led to the signals.

The pilots were described as Russian and Ukrainian, but the material does not establish that their nationalities were connected to the incident. A report in Israeli media, citing eyewitnesses, said one pilot behaved in an unruly manner and threatened suicide. It said an Israeli passenger entered the cockpit and helped the co-pilot restrain the pilot.

One passenger, identified as Miriam, told Reuters that she heard screaming from the cockpit. She said that when the door opened, one of the pilots was lying injured and holding a folding knife, with blood visible around the area. The accounts remain preliminary.

The source material presents several possible explanations for the emergency, including a suicide attempt, an effort to crash the aircraft and tensions between the pilots, but it does not confirm any of them. The incident prompted a hijacking response because of the 7500 transmission. No information was provided about injuries among passengers, the condition of the pilots or any official findings from Flydubai, aviation authorities or law-enforcement agencies.