Cockpit brawl sparks mid-air emergency on Israel-bound flydubai flight

• A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv transmitted emergency signals and diverted to Saudi Arabia after a reported brawl between the pilots.
• The aircraft safely landed in Tabuk with all 180 passengers unharmed, though reports claim one pilot tried to crash the plane and passengers witnessed violence onboard.
• The incident sparked a major security response in Israel, highlighting risks on this popular route between the UAE and Israel since normalisation.

DUBAI – A flight bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates diverted to Saudi Arabia after transmitting emergency signals following a fight between the pilots, an Israeli official said on Sept 30.

Flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai diverted over Jordanian airspace towards Saudi Arabia, transmitting a general emergency signal before transmitting another emergency signal that indicated a possible unlawful interference several minutes later, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.

The plane, a Boeing 737 Max 8, then again transmitted a general emergency signal before landing at Tabuk airport in north-western Saudi Arabia, the website said.

The aircraft’s data appeared to show that it suddenly and rapidly descended by nearly 4,300m in less than 30 seconds before the first emergency signal, Flightradar24 said.

An Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the pilots transmitted the emergency signals after getting into a physical altercation with each other.

Israeli media, citing anonymous sources, reported that the passengers on board stepped in to separate the pilots, publishing photos of a passenger with a bloodied T-shirt.

According to Channel 12, the authorities were investigating whether or not one of the pilots attempted a possible suicide by trying to crash the plane, with the other pilot apparently intervening to prevent the crash.

An unnamed passenger told the Jerusalem Post, that one pilot was stabbed by another, but passengers near the front of the plane helped force the attacker from the cockpit.

The passenger said two other pilots were on board, at the back of the plane.

“I shouted at them to run and take control of the plane,” the passenger told the Jerusalem Post.

The passenger also said the injured pilot was given life-saving care by a dentist on the flight.

It was not immediately possible to verify these reports.

Yasmin Abu Kasis, whose daughter Miriam was on the flight, told Reuters her daughter told her that she heard screaming, and that a man took a knife, put the pilot on the floor, and that there was blood everywhere.

Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk airport later said on Sept 30 that the pilot and co-pilo were both injured and had been hospitalised.

The flight landed at Tabuk airport “at 9.45am (0645 GMT) and its captain and co-pilot were found to have injuries and were transported to hospital”, a statement from the company operating the airport said, adding that passengers received the necessary care.

Security response

The emergency signals triggered a major security response in Israel.

The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir, met with top air force, intelligence and operations officials, the military said.

The Israeli air force scrambled fighter jets, the military said, but they turned back before entering Saudi Arabian airspace. The Saudi air force also dispatched a fighter jet to investigate, an Israeli official said.

Doron Spielman, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister’s office, told Reuters the incident was not believed to have been a hijacking, describing it as a “different incident”.

An airline spokesman said the flydubai flight experienced an “incident” en route to Tel Aviv and diverted to Tabuk, where it landed safely.

All passengers were safe and accounted for, he said, without providing any further details. The plane was carrying some 180 passengers, most of them Israelis.

In a statement, the Israeli prime minister’s office said the situation was “under control”, and that all measures were being taken to bring the Israeli passengers back to Israel.

Flydubai operates daily flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv, a route that is popular among Israeli nationals. Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have official diplomatic relations.

It is not the first time a flight between Israel and the UAE has landed in Saudi Arabia.

A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Riyadh in September 2025 due to a medical emergency, Israeli media reported at the time. REUTERS, AFP