What happened to the FLYDUBAI flight to Isreal?
One pilot on flydubai flight FZ 1073, traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, stabbed the other pilot and apparently tried to crash the plane, forcing an emergency diversion to Saudi Arabia.
Answer from Mary's digital twin. Checkmark turns Green once she confirms it.
spio.comIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that as the plane was approaching Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and tried to crash the plane with everyone on board, in what Israel is calling an attempted terrorist attack.
Netanyahu said one passenger described how, as the plane "went into a spin and began to plunge," that passenger and a crew member broke into the cockpit and subdued the attacker. Netanyahu said in a video message that the passengers, whom he referred to as "heroes," "prevented a major disaster."
The drop and the diversion
The incident caused the aircraft to plummet 17,400 feet in less than two minutes, flight tracking data shows. The flight crew then secured the aircraft and diverted to make an emergency landing at an airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
The diversion initially prompted fears of a hijacking and the dispatch of Israeli fighter jets.
The pilots and the investigation
A statement from Cluster2, the Saudi company that manages the country's airports, said both the captain and first officer were being treated for injuries in a hospital. According to an Israeli source, the pilot suspected of the act is of Omani origin, while the co-pilot is reportedly from India.
Netanyahu said Saudi authorities arrested the suspected attacker and are questioning him. Israeli authorities, including the Shin Bet and Mossad agencies, are investigating what they suspect is a terror incident. The airline said the motives behind the incident remain subject to a formal investigation.
Passengers
There were no reports of injuries to passengers. A replacement flydubai flight carrying most of the stranded passengers has since landed in Tel Aviv.
This is a breaking, developing story and details are still coming in.
Follow-ups
Has the identity of the pilots been released? What was the motive? Why are people saying they believe it was staged by Israel to divert attention from the poor UNGA reception?
No official names have been released, no confirmed motive exists yet, and the "staged" claim is a conspiracy theory with no evidence behind it.
Here is what is established and what is not.
The pilots' identities
Authorities were still working to determine the identity of the pilot who carried out the stabbing as of the latest reporting. No names have been published by flydubai, Saudi authorities or any government. Israeli sources told the Jerusalem Post that the suspect is believed to be of Omani nationality, based on initial investigations, and that flydubai's operating agreement with Israel requires pilots to be from countries that have normalized relations with Israel. Oman has not normalized relations with Israel. One of the questions Israeli investigators are examining is why the flight crew included a pilot from a country with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations.
Israeli sources told CNN they suspect the co-pilot stabbed the captain and tried to hijack the plane. That makes the co-pilot the suspect and the captain the victim, but again, neither has been named publicly.
Motive
As of today no official finding has been published, and neither flydubai nor the Saudi or UAE authorities have confirmed a motive. Flydubai's own statement said: "At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation," adding that it urges "all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts." A host of Israeli agencies, including Shin Bet, Mossad, the military and the country's transportation ministry, are involved in the investigation.
The "staged by Israel" claim
No credible journalist, official or investigator has put this theory forward. It is circulating on social media, and it fits a recognizable pattern: when a dramatic event involving Israel happens, claims that Israel manufactured it spread almost immediately, regardless of evidence.
What makes this version particularly hard to sustain is the physical record. Flight data from Flightradar24 indicates the plane plunged 14,125 feet in just 29 seconds. Video footage circulating on social media and reviewed by the Associated Press shows two men on the floor of the plane with bloody wounds. Flydubai sent a replacement aircraft to Tabuk to collect the 174 passengers, including 27 children. Most passengers refused to board the rescue aircraft, citing fears about a non-Israeli crew, and the atmosphere on the ground was described as fearful, with children crying. That is not the behavior of participants in a staged event.
As for the UN General Assembly reception: Benjamin Netanyahu did address the UNGA this week, and Israel's standing there is contested, as it often is. But no evidence exists that this incident was timed or fabricated in connection with that. The two things happened on the same day. That is the entire basis of the theory.
The investigation is ongoing and active, with Saudi, UAE and Israeli agencies all involved. The names, the full motive and the formal findings will come through those channels, not from social media.
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