FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv diverts to Saudi Arabia; both pilots injured

FlyDubai said everyone aboard was safe and accounted for. The available reports do not give a complete account of passenger injuries or the pilots’ conditions after they were taken to the hospital.

What happened before the landing

Flight-tracking data cited by The Associated Press showed the aircraft descending from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in about one minute. That sharp change in altitude does not, by itself, establish why the plane descended or what happened in the cockpit.

A passenger’s mother told the AP that her daughter heard someone calling for help and said the plane began to lose control. The account describes what one passenger experienced; it does not independently establish the pilots’ actions.

Netanyahu said a passenger and a crew member entered the cockpit as the plane descended, and that other crew members took over flying. FlyDubai said its crew secured the aircraft and landed safely. The available reports do not establish a complete sequence of who did what, or when.

Israeli officials said warplanes were scrambled because authorities feared a possible hijacking. That fear explains the response to the emergency; it is not confirmation that a hijacking occurred.

The AP reported that the flight carried dozens of Israeli passengers. Accounts differ on the total number of people aboard, leaving no confirmed passenger count in the available reporting.

What officials have said

Netanyahu said Saudi Arabia arrested a pilot. It reports no formal charge or investigative finding against either pilot.

The airport’s account said both pilots were injured but did not say how either was hurt.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz characterized the incident as an attempted jihadist terror attack and credited Israeli passengers with stopping it, CBS News reported. That description goes beyond what the available evidence establishes: FlyDubai said in a statement reported by TIME that the reasons and motives remained unknown pending a formal investigation.

The emergency also brought an Israel-bound flight to a country without formal diplomatic ties with Israel. Saudi Arabia ended its ban on Israeli flights crossing its airspace in 2022 and has previously coordinated emergency landings involving Israeli passengers, the AP reported. The United Arab Emirates, where FZ1073 began its journey, normalized relations with Israel in 2020 and later became a popular destination for Israeli tourists.

Passengers’ onward journey

CBS News reported that two replacement aircraft had been deployed to Tabuk for passengers and crew. Euronews reported that Israel was working to bring passengers home. Those reports do not establish when or whether passengers traveled onward.

For those aboard, a safe landing did not answer every immediate question. The available reporting does not establish the extent of any passenger injuries, the pilots’ subsequent conditions or when passengers could complete their journey.

FlyDubai said the incident is subject to a formal investigation. No findings were reported in the available accounts, leaving the events in the cockpit, the cause of the descent and any motive unresolved.