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Flight FZ1073 carrying 174 people including 27 children departed Dubai at approximately 6 a.m. local time bound for Tel Aviv when an altercation broke out in the cockpit roughly two hours into the journey according to data compiled by Flightradar24 and statements from Flydubai. The Boeing 737 lost more than 17 000 feet in under two minutes triggering a distress call followed by the international hijack code 7500 as the aircraft turned sharply northward Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported. Passengers described chaotic scenes with screams filling the cabin as the plane appeared to spin and systems including lights and air conditioning failed multiple accounts to CNN and the Financial Times indicated.
A Flydubai passenger described hugging his children as the plane nosedived during the attack one of several personal testimonies that emerged after the group returned to Israel via the BBC and other outlets. “We just felt the plane drop completely and start spinning a little and everyone was screaming there were children crying” Mika Bauman told CNN adding that she was sure she was going to die. “It was scary as hell” Lital Shachar who was travelling with her daughters stated to reporters “There were thoughts that we didn’t survive that we wouldn’t make it.”
Yaniv Hayoun one of the passengers who rushed the cockpit told Netanyahu and Israeli media that he placed the attacker in a chokehold and dragged him from the controls after seeing the captain bloodied on the floor. Hayoun said he then grabbed the yokes to help pull the aircraft out of its descent while others including a dentist on board used headphone cords and zip ties to restrain the co-pilot identified by Israeli authorities as an Omani national. The injured captain Indian national Smit Machchhar received immediate aid from medical professionals among the passengers before the plane stabilised according to accounts shared with CNN and the New York Times.
Flight tracking information showed the aircraft continued to experience altitude fluctuations for approximately 11 minutes with ground speed exceeding 600 knots at times well above normal cruising levels a Bloomberg analysis of the data found. The jet ultimately diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia where it landed safely with no fatalities or serious passenger injuries Flydubai confirmed in its statement describing the event as an altercation. Israeli officials have yet to disclose a clear motive for the attack though they praised the passengers and crew for preventing a larger disaster.
Additional passengers recounted the terror of believing death was imminent during the plunge with one father heard on social media videos repeatedly telling his children it was only an air pocket as he crouched to shield them according to video reviewed by the Financial Times. “The most terrifying moment in this flight was when the pilot lost control” Haim Lazarovich told journalists upon returning to Israel adding “Thank God I’m alive.” Almog Itali compared the initial drop to a roller coaster with massive G-force in comments to BBC Newsnight estimating it lasted 20 to 30 seconds before partial recovery.
The incident marks a rare case of onboard intervention averting potential catastrophe on a route that has become routine since the normalisation of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates under the Abraham Accords with more than two dozen daily flights operating between the countries a report in The Print noted. Authorities in Israel and the UAE have launched investigations into cockpit security protocols while passenger videos and interviews continue to circulate highlighting both the panic and heroism displayed aboard. No further details on the co-pilot’s background or potential links to regional tensions have been released by officials as of October 1.
