Overview
- The Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv sent emergency transponder codes on Wednesday, suffered a rapid, large loss of altitude and diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing.
- Multiple passenger accounts and media reports say the copilot stabbed the commander in the cockpit and tried to seize control before other passengers and two off‑duty pilots intervened to restrain him.
- Flight‑tracking shows the jet lost several thousand meters in seconds during the incident, and the plane first transmitted Squawk 7700 (general emergency) then 7500 (unlawful interference), signals used internationally to warn military and air traffic controllers.
- Israeli security bodies including the IDF, Mossad and Shin Bet are investigating with a terrorist motive a principal line of inquiry; Saudi authorities have detained the suspect and Flydubai has described the event as a cockpit altercation while pausing services to Israel pending the probe.
- Most passengers were Israeli and were repatriated on replacement flights; authorities will continue passenger interviews, interrogations of the detained copilot and diplomatic coordination between Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to verify identities and motive.