FlyDubai flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with close to 180 passengers aboard, transmitted a general emergency code and then an international hijack signal on September 30. Israel scrambled fighter jets toward the aircraft, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz opened emergency consultations while the plane’s location was still unknown. Police Commissioner Danny Levy said, “We are preparing for every scenario.”
The crew switched to manual control and reversed course over Saudi and Jordanian airspace, dropping off public flight trackers for a stretch before the plane touched down at Tabuk airport in northern Saudi Arabia, where passengers and crew were unharmed.
Israeli security sources have since ruled out a hijacking, pointing instead to a fight between the plane’s two pilots in the cockpit. FlyDubai has not said publicly what caused the alert, and Saudi authorities have yet to release their own account.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more details are confirmed.
