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'Knife in the Cockpit': Pilots' Mid-Air Fight Sent Flydubai Jet Plunging 14,000 Feet — Then a Landing in Saudi Arabia

Anuj Chaubey |

Breaking · September 30, 2026

'Knife in the Cockpit': Pilots' Mid-Air Fight Sent a Flydubai Jet Plunging 14,000 Feet — Then Came a Landing in Saudi Arabia

Key Takeaways
  • Flydubai flight FZ1073, Dubai to Tel Aviv, transmitted hijack-alert codes mid-flight and dropped nearly 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds.
  • An Israeli official told Reuters the emergency signals followed a physical fight between the two pilots — but who sent them, and why, is still under investigation.
  • Israeli media report one pilot was stabbed and passengers saw blood in the cockpit; these details remain unconfirmed.
  • Israel scrambled fighter jets and Netanyahu consulted security chiefs — then the jet landed in Saudi Arabia, a country with no diplomatic ties to Israel.
  • All passengers and crew are safe. The PM's office says it was "not believed to have been a hijacking."
Flydubai Boeing 737 in flight
A Flydubai Boeing 737 in flight — the incident aircraft was flight FZ1073 on the Dubai to Tel Aviv route. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

At 34,000 feet, with some 150 passengers headed for Tel Aviv, the two people everyone trusted most on board turned on each other — and sent a Boeing 737 into a fall so steep it briefly looked like a hijacking on every flight tracker.

Flight FZ1073 left Dubai at around 3:05 a.m. UTC on Wednesday bound for Ben Gurion Airport. Two and a half hours later, over Jordanian airspace, it squawked 7700 — the international code for a general emergency. Minutes later it switched to 7500: unlawful interference, the code pilots use when they believe the aircraft is being hijacked.

Flightradar24's data tells the terrifying part. At about 5:21 a.m. UTC the jet was cruising at 34,000 feet. Then, in less than 30 seconds, it plunged nearly 14,000 feet — a descent CNN later estimated reached some 17,400 feet over two minutes.

What happened in the cockpit

This is where verified fact ends and fast-moving reporting begins — so read the next two paragraphs with that filter on.

An Israeli official, speaking to Reuters anonymously, said the pilots transmitted the emergency signals after a physical altercation with each other. Whether either pilot deliberately sent the codes — or whether a hand struck the transponder in a struggle — is unknown.

Israeli media, led by the Times of Israel, went further: one pilot was reportedly stabbed, passengers heard shouting from the cockpit, and blood was visible when the door opened. Israeli authorities have not confirmed any of this. Treat every detail about knives and the struggle as reported, not proven. Flydubai, for its part, has said only that the flight experienced an "incident," diverted to Tabuk, and landed safely with everyone accounted for.

Inside a Flydubai Boeing 737 MAX cabin
Inside a Flydubai Boeing 737 MAX cabin — passengers on FZ1073 reported hearing screams from the cockpit during the incident. Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0, Kgbo)

Jets scrambled, Netanyahu pulled in

The 7500 code triggered a full-scale security response in Israel. CNN reported fighter jets were scrambled as authorities tried to determine if a civilian jet full of Israeli passengers had been seized. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held emergency consultations; army chief Eyal Zamir convened the air force commander and military intelligence and cancelled a planned U.S. trip.

Within hours, the hijacking theory was being walked back. The prime minister's office told Reuters the incident was "not believed to have been a hijacking" — a "different incident." Other Israeli security officials, speaking to The Times, wouldn't rule out a terror motive, noting Netanyahu had warned this week that Israel's enemies "will try to attack us" before next month's election. That assessment, like the stabbing reports, remains unconfirmed.

Why the landing spot matters

FZ1073 eventually diverted to Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia — a plane full of Israeli passengers touching down in a country with no diplomatic relations with Israel.

The Dubai–Tel Aviv run has become one of the region's busiest since the UAE and Israel normalized ties six years ago: routine, well-worn, among the least dramatic flights in the world. That's what makes this morning jarring — the reported danger didn't come from the sky. It came from the two seats at the very front of the plane.

The probe now spans the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel: what started the fight, who sent the emergency codes, and did anyone intend to bring the jet down? For now, one fact is undisputed: everyone on board is alive, and whatever happened at 34,000 feet, the worst outcome was averted.