A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after sending emergency signals that raised fears of a hijacking.
Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was heading for Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport when it changed course over Jordanian airspace and landed safely at Tabuk Airport in north-western Saudi Arabia, with Flydubai saying all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for.
Flightradar24 data showed the aircraft dropping more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before it transmitted the general emergency code 7700. Seven minutes later, it sent code 7500, which indicates possible unlawful interference with an aircraft, before later returning to 7700 as it approached Tabuk.
Israel scrambled fighter jets and convened an urgent security meeting, with three Israeli security officials telling Reuters that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations over the flight.
The Prime Minister’s Office later said the incident was not believed to be a hijacking.
An Israeli official, speaking anonymously, told Reuters that the pilots sent the signals after a physical altercation between them. Flydubai has not confirmed the reported fight.
Passengers told Israel’s Channel 12 they heard shouting near the front of the plane and felt it dip steeply before landing, while one passenger told i24NEWS that a knife was involved. The accounts have not been independently verified.
Flydubai confirmed only that the flight “experienced an incident while en route” to Tel Aviv and diverted to Tabuk, without explaining what happened in the cockpit.
Netanyahu’s office said the situation was under control and that efforts were underway to return the Israeli passengers home.
