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A FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia's Tabuk airport on Wednesday after a fight broke out in the cockpit between the two pilots. The incident caused a rapid drop in altitude and an emergency alert, prompting Israel to scramble fighter jets. Authorities confirmed the plane landed safely, and all passengers are secure pending investigation.
A commercial plane travelling from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Israel was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, briefly raising concerns about a possible hijacking and prompting Israel to scramble warplanes.
FlyDubai Emergency Landing Details
Israeli media, citing security officials, said the incident stemmed from a feud between the plane's two pilots, and everyone on board was safe. The plane landed in Tabuk, a civilian and military base in the kingdom. The FlyDubai plane had transmitted an emergency alert, according to publicly available flight tracking information.
About two and a half hours after departing from Dubai, it abruptly descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet within a minute, before making an erratic circle close to the Jordanian border and eventually landing in Tabuk about an hour later, according to FlightRadar24. A regional official briefed on the incident said a fight broke out in the cockpit and apparently involved the pilots. It was not immediately clear what had caused the fight, the official said.
A second official confirmed that Israel had scrambled warplanes, fearing a hijacking of a plane carrying dozens of its citizens. Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has warned in recent days of unspecified, escalated security threats. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the incident was still under investigation. Netanyahu's office later said the situation was under control and Israel was working to bring the passengers home.
Emergency landings for personnel reasons are rare yet not unheard of. In 2022, two Air France pilots were suspended after fighting in the cockpit on a Geneva-Paris flight, though it did not have to be diverted and landed as planned. Passengers told an Israeli TV station by phone that they heard shouts from those sitting more forward on the plane who heard the altercation between the pilots, and the plane dipped steeply before landing in Saudi Arabia.
Passengers and Saudi Security Response
They also said that all the passengers are staying on the plane and that there is a heavy presence of Saudi security forces surrounding them. FlyDubai later confirmed that flight FZ 1073 en route to Ben Gurion experienced an incident and landed safely in Tabuk on Wednesday.
"Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities," the carrier said. "Further updates will be issued as additional confirmed details become available. " Flight-tracking data indicated that the plane was a Boeing 737 Max 8. FlyDubai is the lower-cost sister carrier of Emirates airlines.
The UAE has become a popular vacation destination for Israeli tourists since the countries normalised ties in 2020. - AP
Flydubai Cockpit Fight Emergency Landing Dubai Israel Saudi Arabia Tabuk Aviation Incident
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