A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv plummeted 17,000 feet in under two minutes on September 30, 2026, after a cockpit altercation involving a pilot stabbing. Passengers subdued the attacker, and on-duty pilots from the cabin safely diverted the aircraft to Saudi Arabia.
The morning of September 30, 2026, began like any other routine regional journey for Flydubai flight FZ1073. En route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the airliner suddenly dropped 17,000ft (5,200m) in less than two minutes as a violent struggle erupted inside the flight deck.
Flight FZ1073 Plummets 17,000 Feet as Cockpit Struggle Unfolds
Flight data reveals the rapid escalation of the emergency. According to Flightradar24 records, the aircraft’s altitude began to fluctuate at 7:21 a.m. Hungarian time. In less than 30 seconds, the jet dropped over 14 ezer lábat—roughly 4,300 meters. At 7:31 a.m., the crew transmitted squawk code 7700 to indicate a general emergency, before switching seven minutes later to 7500, the universal code for unlawful interference or hijacking.
Inside the cabin, passengers experienced sheer terror as the walls closed in. Passenger Daniel told Israeli Channel 12 that he heard shouting from the flight deck just before the descent began, recalling the fear of another September 11.
According to three Israeli officials speaking to Reuters, the copilot stabbed the captain in an apparent terror attempt, with one official identifying the suspect as an Omani national. Initial reports had mistakenly pointed toward a dispute between Ukrainian and Russian crew members.
Passengers and Off-Duty Pilots Overpower the Cockpit Attacker
As chaos gripped the front of the aircraft, passengers took matters into their own hands. Yaniv Hayun, appearing later in a bloodstained shirt, told the Israeli prime minister that he realized something was wrong the moment the plane dropped. When the injured captain managed to open the cockpit door before collapsing, Hayun and another man rushed inside.
Hayun found the attacker standing between the pilot seats, trying to destroy the instruments in order to…disable the plane.
Fortune intervened when it mattered most. Two on-duty pilots who happened to be traveling as passengers in the cabin—one British and another from a European nation—rushed forward. One of them took over the controls, stabilized the aircraft, and guided it toward a safe landing.
Emergency Landing in Tabuk and Return to Tel Aviv
The crippled airliner requested an emergency landing and touched down safely at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia roughly an hour after the initial distress signal. Airport officials confirmed that the captain and copilot were transported to local hospitals.
The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia confirmed that the injured captain, Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, is in stable condition.
While Saudi authorities arrested the attacker and launched a formal interrogation, the remaining passengers boarded a repatriation flight to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport. They were welcomed home by joyful crowds waving Israeli flags, singing, and playing music. Passenger Haim Lazarovich voiced the collective relief of those on board, telling journalists, Thank God I’m alive.