Overview
- A Flydubai Boeing en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv issued emergency transponder codes 7700 then 7500, lost thousands of feet in altitude and diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
- Passenger accounts and video say the copilot attacked the commander with a knife and that other passengers and off‑duty pilots forced entry to restrain the assailant.
- Flydubai described the event as a cockpit scuffle in which one pilot lost consciousness and called it not a security incident, while many media reports describe an alleged stabbing that is still being verified.
- The alleged assailant was taken into custody and handed over to Saudi authorities and Israeli agencies including Mossad and Shin Bet have opened an investigation that is treating a terrorist motive as a principal line of inquiry.
- Passengers are being repatriated to Israel on replacement flights and Israeli officials are reviewing how the crewmember was assigned to the route and whether security or vetting rules need to change.