# Flydubai Jet Diverts to Saudi Arabia After Reported Cockpit Attack on Dubai–Tel Aviv Route

*Wednesday, September 30, 2026 at 12:06 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-09-30T12:06:04.354Z (2h ago)
**Category**: conflict | **Region**: Middle East
**Importance**: 10/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/19244.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after broadcasting hijack and emergency codes, with initial reports and videos indicating the captain was stabbed and passengers helped subdue attackers on board.

An ordinary Flydubai service between Dubai and Tel Aviv turned into a mid‑air emergency on 30 September, when the Boeing 737 diverted to the Saudi city of Tabuk after an apparent violent incident in the cockpit.

Flight FZ1073, carrying roughly 150 to 180 passengers, most of them reported to be Israelis, first transmitted the transponder code 7500, used to signal a hijacking. It then switched to the general emergency code 7700 before dropping off civilian flight‑tracking sites near Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

Footage from inside the aircraft after it landed in Tabuk shows the pilot lying on the floor and receiving assistance, and separate video appears to show blood near the cockpit area. Another clip, recorded just minutes before the emergency landing, features an Israeli passenger stating that there were attackers on board and that the pilot needed medical help.

Spanish‑language and regional reports say the copilot, described as being of Omani origin, repeatedly stabbed the captain while shouting religious slogans and tried to force the aircraft into a steep descent. These accounts say passengers and crew entered the cockpit, overpowered the assailant and helped stabilize the aircraft until it could land.

Authorities and Flydubai had not released a full, detailed reconstruction of events by early afternoon UTC. Key points – including the exact identity of the suspected attacker, the number of people involved and the motive – remain under investigation by Saudi, Emirati and Israeli officials. What is confirmed is that the plane made an emergency landing in Tabuk and that the pilot survived and required medical treatment.

The incident is already feeding into political arguments in Israel. National Security Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir publicly thanked what he called heroic passengers and said Israel’s security doctrine "must go up a level," linking the episode to his calls for “total victory” in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that anyone who tried to crash the plane with around 180 Israelis on board "must pay as if he murdered," extending that threat to any state or organization that may have sent him.

For passengers on routes between Israel and regional hubs, the emergency underlines the particular risks they face if attackers target flights because of their destination and passenger mix. It also raises difficult questions about how airlines vet and monitor their own flight crews when initial reports point to an insider as the suspected assailant.

Investigators’ next steps will shape the fallout: formal statements on what happened in the cockpit, any criminal charges and identifications released for those involved, and whether regulators or airlines change security and screening rules for crews on flights serving Tel Aviv. Governments in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel are also under pressure to clarify how they will cooperate on such investigations when incidents cross their airspace and jurisdictions.