Dubai-Tel Aviv flight makes emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after in-flight incident

A plane leaving Dubai and bound for Tel Aviv, Israel, had to land urgently in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, September 30, following an in-flight "incident", according to the company FlyDubai. “Flight FZ 1073, connecting Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport on September 30, experienced an incident en route. The aircraft landed safely at Tabuk airport and all passengers are safe and sound,” said a spokesperson for the Emirati low-cost company in a statement.

A fight between the pilots was the cause of the incident, according to the Israeli press, where the authorities are taking the incident very seriously. According to Tabuk airport, the captain and co-pilot - one of Omani nationality, the other Emirati - were taken to hospital "to receive the necessary treatment". According to the far-right Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, a “terrorist” wanted to crash the plane.

“The plane was nosediving and we forced the cockpit door”

The first version of the facts is given by the Israeli press: flight FZ 1073 took off from Dubai with 170 passengers, including many Israelis. Quickly, an emergency signal is triggered. Then the alert code for diversion.

According to witnesses, quoted by the Israeli press, on board the plane, there was panic: "An hour before landing, we had the impression that we no longer had control of the plane, that it was starting to nosedive. The guys saw that the plane was nosediving and forced the cockpit door," Dalia Shpigel told the daily Haaretz.

In the sky, the plane fell 4,000 meters in just two minutes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is informed of the situation live. Immediately, the Israeli army took off fighter planes. The hypothesis of the hijacking was, however, quickly ruled out, according to Israeli television channels 12 and KAN.

A knife fight and the trail of a

Images of the cabin upon landing show the tension of the situation: the ground is littered with belongings. We also see a man in a t-shirt, stained with blood, among the passengers.

According to the first versions, the co-pilot would have tried to rush the plane to the ground. A “terrorist tried to crash a plane to assassinate the 180 Israelis who were on board,” says Itamar Ben Gvir, Israeli Minister of National Security. An act reminiscent of the tragedy of Germanwings in March 2015 in the French Southern Alps.

The co-pilot then allegedly tried to control him with a knife, supported in the fight by passengers. Two passengers say for their part that "people started screaming. Then the plane started to pitch. We understood that the pilots had lost control because one of them had been stabbed." Also according to press reports, two other pilots, who were on the flight as passengers, took control of the plane and landed it.

An investigation is underway and Israel says it is taking all measures to repatriate the passengers safely. This crisis situation comes not only in the midst of regional conflict, but also in the run-up to elections in Israel next month. The Israeli authorities have several times reported an increased risk for the country in this context, with Benjamin Netanyahu recently mentioning "clues" of possible attacks before the election.