New Delhi / Tel Aviv, Sept 30, 2026 – A major aviation scare triggered tension across West Asia on Wednesday when a Flydubai flight carrying around 180 Israeli passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv transmitted emergency hijack signals over Saudi Arabia and was forced to make an emergency landing.
The flight, Flydubai FZ1073 – Boeing 737 MAX 8 from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, took off around 7 AM local time.
According to flight-tracking data, about 90 minutes into the flight while over Saudi Arabia near the Jordanian border, the aircraft first squawked code 7700, indicating a general emergency, and then switched to code 7500, the internationally recognised signal for unlawful interference / hijacking.
The 7500 signal prompted Israel to scramble military fighter jets amid fears of a hijack. The plane subsequently diverted and landed safely in Tabuk, a city that hosts both civilian and military facilities in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
Israeli and international media later clarified it was not a terrorist hijack but a violent altercation inside the cockpit.
Reports claim one pilot allegedly attacked the other with a folding pocket-knife, attempting to crash the plane in a suspected suicide attempt similar to a 9/11-style attack. During the struggle, the aircraft descended about 17,400 feet in roughly two minutes and showed vertical speed fluctuating between -30,000 and +10,000 feet per minute before stabilising.
One pilot allegedly stabbed another and the hijack code may have been activated during the altercation.
A passenger told Israel’s Channel 12: “We heard screams on the plane. Then they opened the cockpit and we saw blood, and someone had stabbed the pilot with a pocketknife.”_ Passengers and crew members intervened to subdue the attacker before the emergency landing.
Another passenger, Noam, said: _“We prayed. There were also moments when we thought we weren’t going to make it out alive.”
Israeli media published pictures of a passenger whose T-shirt was soaked in blood, who is being hailed as a hero. The Israeli man reportedly helped overpower the knife-wielding pilot and saved around 180 lives. His name has not been disclosed yet for security reasons. The suspect pilot is said to be of Omani nationality, as per unconfirmed reports.
All passengers and crew were reported safe after landing.
The incident led to emergency consultations in Israel. The Israeli military said IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir held an assessment with senior officers including Israeli Air Force chief Maj Gen Omer Tischler, Operations Directorate chief Maj Gen Itzik Cohen and Intelligence Directorate chief Maj Gen Shlomi Binder.
The Israeli PM Office said: “Following concern over an aviation incident, PM Netanyahu discussed the matter, is monitoring developments. Situation is fully under control and all necessary steps are being taken to safely bring back Israeli passengers.”
Hebrew media also reported that PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz held emergency consultations as the aircraft briefly disappeared from flight-tracking websites.
Authorities are now investigating whether one of the pilots attempted to deliberately crash the aircraft. Channel 14 reported it may have been a suicide attempt, with the pilot forcing the aircraft into a rapid descent before the second pilot intervened.
Flydubai and Saudi authorities have not yet issued a detailed official statement on the motive, and the investigation is ongoing in Tabuk under Saudi security forces.
