A Flydubai passenger jet traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv was forced to make an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia on September 30, 2026, after a violent mid-air altercation broke out inside the cockpit. Flight FZ1073, carrying between 150 and 180 passengers, was diverted after one of the pilots allegedly attacked the other with a knife and attempted to destabilise the aircraft.
The harrowing incident occurred roughly two to two-and-a-half hours into the flight while the Boeing 737 was cruising near the Saudi-Jordanian border. Flight-tracking data revealed a sudden and precipitous drop of thousands of feet within seconds, during which the cockpit broadcast emergency transponder codes, including signals indicating unlawful interference and hijacking.
Alerted by screams and signs of severe distress coming from the flight deck, crew members and quick-acting passengers intervened directly, successfully subduing and restraining the attacker. Both the captain and the first officer sustained injuries during the struggle, with graphic reports confirming blood inside the cockpit before the aircraft was safely brought down in Tabuk around 9:45 a.m. local time.
The unfolding emergency prompted the Israeli military to scramble fighter jets, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence officials convened high-level security consultations, initially characterising the incident as an attempted attack and a grave security breach. Flydubai confirmed that an en-route incident had occurred, assuring the public that all passengers were unharmed and coordinating closely with regional authorities.
Emergency medical teams in Saudi Arabia transported both injured pilots to a local hospital for urgent treatment, while the uninjured passengers were later flown onward to Israel aboard a replacement aircraft as international aviation and security agencies launched a full investigation into the motives behind the attack.