On September 30, passengers aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv experienced a sudden and steep descent after a co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the aircraft. The flight, carrying over 170 Israelis, made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Passengers intervened when they noticed commotion near the cockpit, subduing the attacker while a reserve crew assumed control of the plane.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-30,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 30, 2026, a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv signalled an emergency over Jordanian airspace, turning around shortly after and landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. The plane, carrying approximately 150 passengers mostly Israeli citizens, transmitted distress signals indicating possible unlawful interference but was later found safe with no hijacking involved. Instead, the situation stemmed from a physical altercation between the pilots. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held urgent consultations and the Israeli Air Force scrambled fighter jets in response to initial fears of a hijack attempt.
Written for “Israel Bound Flight Diverts Due to Co…” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 282 other(s) covering the same event.
A pilot brawl, then a rapid descent: passengers recount chaos on flydubai flight
JERUSALEM, Sept 30 -
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passengers → recount → flight
When flydubai flight FZ1073 suddenly plunged from over 30,000 feet on Wednesday, passenger Almog Italie said it felt like the plane was passing through "massive turbulence" before he realised a life-or-death struggle had unfolded in the cockpit.
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struggle → plunge → cockpit
Italie described passengers running to the front of the cabin and commotion in front of the cockpit, where Israeli officials said the co-pilot had stabbed the captain to try to crash the plane flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with more than 170 Israelis on board.
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pilot → describe → board
"It was dropping like for 20, 30 seconds, and then balanced, and then started dropping again, and balanced again, and then we saw that (there) are people in the front, directly (in front of ) the cockpit," he told Reuters.
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he → drop → Reuters
"Crew members and passengers from the front of the airplane took over and got control of the two pilots."
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members → take → pilots
Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister’s office, said the wounded captain, bloodied and lying on the floor, had drawn on "the last moments of his energy" to click open the release on the cockpit door.
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captain → say → door
"At that moment, some of the passengers that realised something was happening raced forward, entered the pilot's cabin.
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something → realise → cabin
They saw the injured pilot on the ground, and the other … the attacking pilot was standing over the control panel, bashing the control panel," he said.
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he → see → panel
A passenger subdued the attacker, he said.
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he → subdue → attacker
A video filmed on board and verified by Reuters captured the aftermath.
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video → film → aftermath
In it, two wounded men are seen lying on the floor, both bloodied.
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both → see → floor
A voice speaking in Hebrew off camera says one of them is the pilot "they tried to murder".
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they → speak → them
A voice off camera identifies the other as the attacker, lying on his side with three stripes on his epaulette, indicating that he is a co-pilot.
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he → identify → epaulette
"We were attacked now, on this airplane, they tried to murder the pilot, and we took control of the team/staff," a man in a black shirt with blood on his face says.
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man → attack → face
Another man says: "We're standing here, no one is going to pass through the pilot's door."
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one → say → door
RESERVE CREW
A reserve flydubai crew that had been on board took control of the plane and landed it safely at Tabuk Airport (TUU), a flydubai spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → take → Airport
A playback of the flight posted on flight-tracking website flightradar24 showed the plane cruising at 34,000 feet heading westwards over Saudi Arabia when it dropped more than 14,000 feet in 30 seconds, before veering northwest.
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it → post → seconds
It briefly crossed into Jordan, then returned to Saudi airspace and flew to Tabuk.
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It → cross → Tabuk
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the attempted attack "was thwarted solely thanks to the heroism of several Israeli passengers who stormed the cockpit, subdued the terrorist, and — with their own hands — restored control of the aircraft to an additional flight crew present on board".
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who → say → board
"According to our preliminary information, the terrorist had a single objective: to crash the plane," he said in a statement.
uncertain
he → accord → statement
Flydubai said in a statement that the underlying reasons for the event remained unknown and warned against "premature speculation".
Italie said the reserve crew "took over the airplane and balanced it".
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crew → say → it
Most of the passengers kept calm and were very supportive to each other.
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Most → keep → other
And when then we landed in Saudi Arabia, which we got a very very warm welcome with a lot of medical staff and food and anything we needed, and we're waiting for the flight back to Tel Aviv," he said.
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he → land → Aviv
The Aporia
