A Flydubai flight, with 174 people on board, which was heading from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, to Tel Aviv, in Israel, was diverted this Wednesday (30) to Saudi Arabia, after a serious incident inside the flight deck.
The plane was in Jordanian airspace, 90 minutes after takeoff, when the aircraft suffered a sudden drop of around 17,000 feet in just two minutes. During the emergency, one of the pilots initially activated a general distress code and then code 7,500, used internationally to indicate possible illicit interference or kidnapping.
Given the alert, Israel mobilized Air Force fighters to accompany the flight, which ended up being diverted to Tabuk Airport, in northwest Saudi Arabia. The two pilots were injured from the aircraft and were taken to a hospital. Israeli authorities are investigating the suspicion that one of them deliberately tried to bring down the plane.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement. “Almost all the passengers on the flight were Israelis. During the flight, as they approached Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other, and everything indicates that he was trying to crash the plane with everyone on board,” he said, adding that one of the passengers managed to break into the cabin and restrain the attacker.
Stories
Reports published by the Israeli press previously confirmed the fight inside the cabin and the suspicion of an attempt to shoot down the plane. Dalia Shpigel told Haaretz that people sitting in the first rows realized that something was wrong and managed to enter the cabin when the plane began to fall. Others reported screams and that one of the pilots had been stabbed.
The mother of one of the passengers told the RT what happened on the aircraft, in the video below.
❗️✈️Mother of a passenger tells what happened on board the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv
The woman said that, suddenly, the passengers heard cries for help and the plane began to lose altitude. pic.twitter.com/nTLdTr0nNi
— RT Última Hora (@RTultimahora) September 30, 2026
To the Haaretzan Israeli official stated that authorities are treating the episode as a possible terrorist incident. Shin Bet and Mossad participate in the investigation. THE Reuters heard from two Israeli officials who also said that the government is investigating the case as a possible attempted “terrorist attack”, although the circumstances and motivation are not clear.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
