A commercial flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv plunged more than 17,000 feet in under two minutes before executing an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The dramatic descent followed an apparent physical altercation between the co-pilots, according to airline representatives, government officials, and Israeli media reports.
Despite the mid-air chaos, FlyDubai and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that all passengers on board are safe and accounted for. While a spokesperson for Netanyahu initially stated the incident was not believed to be a hijacking, subsequent reports from local outlets like the Times of Israel detailed a violent struggle in the cockpit, leading some Israeli officials to investigate the possibility of a planned terrorist attack. The incident comes ahead of a tightly contested election in Israel.
Specific details regarding what triggered the confrontation remain unconfirmed. However, Yasmin Abukasis shared a terrifying account from her daughter Miriam, who was on the flight. According to Abukasis, her daughter described hearing screams and witnessing a man brandish a knife, forcing one of the pilots to the floor amid visible blood. Other passengers reportedly intervened to help subdue one of the injured pilots. It’s a crazy, crazy time, it’s very hard to explain what happened there,” she said.
The FlyDubai aircraft departed from the United Arab Emirates early on September 30. Approximately two hours into the journey, flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicated the plane signaled an onboard security event. The jet underwent extreme altitude fluctuations, dropping over 17,000 feet in less than 120 seconds, during which the crew broadcasted emergency squawk code “7500,” the international signal for unlawful interference or a hijacking.
While Israel’s hard-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir quickly labeled the dramatic incident a terrorist attack, official investigators have not verified this claim. Representatives from FlyDubai, as well as Israeli and Emirati authorities, did not immediately provide further details in response to inquiries. Authorities have not confirmed those accounts and could not immediately verify them.
An Israeli official speaking to the Times of Israel noted that a “major disaster had been averted” during the flight. Direct air travel between Israel and the UAE began in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords, a series of diplomatic normalization agreements brokered by the Trump administration to foster regional economic ties.
The high-altitude emergency occurred amid political tension ahead of Israel’s closely watched elections. On September 30, Prime Minister Netanyahu released a video warning that adversaries might attempt attacks prior to the vote. The scare also preceded the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, which initiated Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza. 30, Netanyahu posted a video message saying that the country’s enemies could attempt to launch an attack on Israel ahead of that. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel that sparked Israel’s full-scale Gaza invasion. From living rooms to conflict zones, kim Hjelmgaard is an investigative journalist covering global stories for.
