A Flight to Israel Dropped Fast and Landed in Saudi Arabia — What We Know
Flydubai flight FZ1073 fell about 17,000 feet (5,200 metres) in less than two minutes on its way to Israel, then landed in Saudi Arabia instead. The plane was carrying 174 people to Israel, according to the latest reporting AP.
The plane was flying from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) in Tel Aviv. It was a Boeing 737 MAX 8 Khaleej Times. The flight took place on September 30, 2026. Tracking data shows it left Dubai at 03:05 UTC, the common clock airlines use, and rose to 34,000 feet, its normal high level for travel Flightradar24.
At 05:22 UTC, tracking showed the height had fallen by more than 14,000 feet (4,270 metres). The data recorded a fall speed of about 30,000 feet per minute downward Al Jazeera. It was like a sudden drop everyone on board would feel at once. The flight then went to Tabuk because of a problem on board.
Flydubai said a fight happened in the cockpit, the locked room where the pilots work. The newest report, published Oct. 1, says a pilot apparently stabbed his co-pilot BBC. An earlier report on Sept. 30 said the opposite, that the co-pilot stabbed the pilot Reuters. That earlier report named the hurt pilot as Captain Smit Machchhar, from India, and said he opened the cockpit door after being stabbed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the hurt pilot a hero. He said one of the pilots may have been trying to crash the plane New York Times.
Passenger Almog Itali said it felt like a "rollercoaster." Several passengers said they took control of the plane after the incident. Two other pilots who were sitting at the back of the plane reportedly came forward to land it.
Flydubai said all passengers were safe and accounted for after the landing. Passengers later reached Israel safely. Flydubai has started an investigation into the incident.
The broader context here is about who investigates and what rules apply. This flight went from the United Arab Emirates toward Israel but landed in Saudi Arabia, so three countries plus the airline are part of the inquiry. Flight data, cockpit sound recordings, medical checks and witness accounts will need to match up before we know if the drop and the stabbing caused each other or were separate. It will matter which authority keeps and listens to the recorders, what Flydubai means by a flight-deck altercation in its safety reports, and how Israeli and Saudi officials describe the landing and the passengers' onward travel. Until those full records are public, the early and different stories about who stabbed whom and who flew the plane should be treated as incomplete.
