A flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia Wednesday after an extraordinary cockpit security incident in which the first officer allegedly stabbed the captain and attempted to interfere with control of the aircraft.
Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was cruising at approximately 34,000 feet when it entered a steep and erratic descent. Public flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 indicates the aircraft lost nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds during one portion of the incident, although the extreme rate reflected in the ADS-B data has not yet been verified through the aircraft’s flight data recorder.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the aircraft. According to Netanyahu, passengers and a crew member forced their way into the cockpit, subdued the first officer and restrained him. Other pilots aboard the aircraft then helped bring the aircraft safely to Saudi Arabia. The allegations surrounding the first officer’s intentions remain subject to investigation.
During the emergency, FZ1073 transmitted transponder code 7700, indicating a general emergency, before switching to 7500, the internationally recognized code for unlawful interference with an aircraft. It later returned to 7700. Flightradar24 says the aircraft began its abnormal descent at approximately 05:21 UTC, stabilized around 15,000 feet and subsequently diverted toward Tabuk.
The aircraft landed safely at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk at approximately 9:45 a.m. local time. Saudi airport authorities said both the captain and first officer sustained injuries and were transported to a hospital. All passengers were reported safe and accounted for.
The alleged attacker has been identified by an Israeli official as an Omani national. Netanyahu said Saudi authorities arrested the first officer following the landing and would interrogate him.
Israeli authorities are currently treating the event as a possible attempted terrorist attack, although Saudi authorities, flydubai and UAE aviation authorities have not publicly established a motive. Flydubai has so far characterized what happened only as an “incident” and said it is cooperating with relevant authorities.
The incident prompted a significant security response in Israel. Authorities initially confronted the possibility of an unlawfully interfered-with aircraft approaching Israeli airspace, and Israeli officials held emergency consultations while the situation unfolded.
Investigators are expected to focus heavily on the cockpit voice and flight data recorders to determine precisely what occurred between the two pilots and whether the aircraft’s dramatic altitude changes resulted from deliberate control inputs or from the struggle inside the flight deck.