Flydubai pilots fight, Tel Aviv flight lands in Tabuk

Flight FZ1073 of Flydubai, which left Dubai for Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning, sent a signal over Jordan indicating unlawful interference with the flight, then landed safely in Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Israeli authorities ruled out a hijacking: according to Israeli officials, the alarm was set off by a fight between the pilots in the cockpit, and Ynet reports that Flydubai itself later confirmed this.

What happened in the air?

The Boeing 737 took off from Dubai at 7:05 a.m. and was due to land at Ben Gurion Airport around 9:30 a.m. According to Ynet, about 90 minutes after departure, as it entered Jordanian airspace, the plane transmitted code 7700, which signals a general emergency. It then sent code 7500, which reports unlawful interference and is usually associated with a hijacking, before switching back to 7700.

At the same time it turned around, returned to Saudi airspace and descended to a lower altitude. Ynet reports that it first flew south and then turned west, briefly disappearing from publicly available flight-tracking services along the way. It reappeared after landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk.

Sources differ on the number of passengers. Ynet says there were 174 passengers on board, 27 of them children, the Times of Israel puts the figure at about 180, and the Jerusalem Post speaks of more than 100 Israeli citizens.

How did Israel react?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held urgent security consultations. Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir assessed the situation with the Air Force commander, the heads of the operations and intelligence directorates and other senior officers, and Ynet adds that Shin Bet, Mossad, the police and the National Security Council also held assessments. The Israeli Air Force scrambled fighter jets, and the police set up a joint command center with other agencies.

Police Commissioner Dani Levi said in a statement during the incident: “We are preparing for every scenario.” An unnamed Israeli security official told Ynet at the time:

There is no definitive information about a hijacking. The pilot activated a distress signal. We cannot establish contact with the pilot, and that is worrying.

After the consultations, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement:

The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being taken to bring the Israeli passengers back to Israel safely.

Sources also differ on airspace. Ynet says Israeli airspace was not closed and that rumors to the contrary on social media were false, while the Jerusalem Post reports that it was temporarily closed and reopened after the plane landed.

What is known about the fight, and what is unconfirmed?

An Israeli official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters that the pilots sent the signals after they came to blows. Reuters also reports that it was not clear whether either of them sent a signal deliberately. The cause of the fight has not been disclosed.

In its first statement, Flydubai said only that flight FZ 1073 “experienced an incident during the flight” and that the aircraft “landed safely in Tabuk,” and that “all passengers are safe and accounted for.” Ynet reports that the company then confirmed that the signal was caused by a fight between the pilots.

Passengers spoke to Israeli media, and the Times of Israel relays their statements to Channel 12. One woman said: “We heard screaming on the plane.” She also claimed that someone stabbed a pilot with a pocketknife and that Israeli passengers helped subdue the attacker. That is a passenger’s account and has not been officially confirmed. One passenger described the descent: “It started dropping fast. It was very scary.”

What comes next for the passengers and crew?

The chief executive of Flydubai announced that the company would send a replacement aircraft from Dubai to Tabuk to carry the passengers to Israel. Authorities plan to question the crew and inspect the plane.

The case is unusual for its geography as well. Saudi Arabia and Israel have no official diplomatic relations, and Flydubai flies the Dubai-Tel Aviv route every day, a line popular with Israeli travelers. What exactly happened in the cockpit has not yet been publicly explained.