Flydubai FZ1073 was diverted to Tabuk after a cockpit confrontation injured Captain Smit Machchhar and the co-pilot.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 lost nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before additional Flydubai pilots took control.
Israeli officials alleged the co-pilot stabbed Machchhar and tried to crash the aircraft, but the claims remain under investigation.
A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a confrontation inside the cockpit left its captain injured and the aircraft made a rapid descent. Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying 174 people, eventually landed at Tabuk after other crew members took control of the aircraft.
The captain was identified as Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, who was injured and taken to a hospital in Tabuk. The co-pilot was also injured. The aircraft had been flying at more than 30,000 feet when it began losing altitude rapidly, prompting passengers and crew to move towards the cockpit. Additional Flydubai pilots travelling on the aircraft subsequently took control.
The broad sequence of events is known, but important details remain under investigation. Israeli officials have alleged that the co-pilot stabbed Machchhar and attempted to crash the aircraft. The allegations have not been independently established, and the motive for the confrontation remains unclear.
What happened inside the cockpit?
FZ1073 departed Dubai International Airport for Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. The aircraft was cruising at more than 30,000 feet when the situation inside the cockpit changed.
According to Reuters, the aircraft lost nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds during the incident. The aircraft also transmitted a distress call before being diverted to Saudi Arabia. Passenger accounts described a sudden drop that lasted several seconds before the aircraft appeared to stabilise and then lose altitude again.
The rapid descent occurred during the confrontation inside the flight deck. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later described the incident as an attempted attack.
The sudden loss of altitude was one of the first indications to passengers that something unusual was happening inside the aircraft.
Passengers described a sudden drop in altitude and movement towards the cockpit as they realised something was wrong.
Reuters reported that Machchhar, despite being injured, was able to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to enter and intervene.
Passenger accounts described a struggle after they entered the cockpit. The co-pilot was restrained while additional Flydubai crew members travelling on the flight took control.
The intervention came while the aircraft was still in the air and after the sudden descent had alerted passengers that there was a serious problem in the cockpit. The presence of additional Flydubai crew members on board meant there were qualified personnel available to take over the controls after the two original pilots were injured. The aircraft was subsequently stabilised and diverted towards Saudi Arabia rather than continuing on its original route to Tel Aviv.
The precise sequence of events inside the cockpit remains under investigation.
How was the aircraft brought under control?
One passenger, Yaniv Hayoun, told reporters that he and others moved towards the cockpit after the aircraft began its sudden descent. He described finding the injured captain and confronting the co-pilot.
The aircraft was then diverted from its original route and headed towards Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia. It made an emergency landing there. Flydubai later arranged a replacement aircraft to take the passengers onwards to Tel Aviv.
The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority said the flight had experienced a security incident that was brought under control and confirmed that the aircraft had diverted to Tabuk. It said injured crew members were taken to hospital and that the relevant authorities were investigating the causes and circumstances of the incident.
The diversion brought the aircraft to Tabuk, where the injured pilots received medical attention. The passengers did not continue their journey on the same flight. Flydubai arranged another aircraft to take them onwards to Tel Aviv after the emergency landing.
Who is Smit Machchhar?
Machchhar was the captain and pilot in command of FZ1073. He is an Indian commercial pilot who spent 11 years with SpiceJet before joining Flydubai in 2022.
His identity was confirmed after the aircraft landed in Tabuk. He was injured during the confrontation and taken to hospital for treatment.
Machchhar's previous career was with SpiceJet, where he spent 11 years before moving to Flydubai in 2022. His experience flying commercial aircraft is part of the background to the incident, although his professional history does not explain what triggered the confrontation inside the cockpit. The available reporting has not established why the confrontation began or what led to the alleged attack.
What is confirmed and what remains unclear?
Several facts are established.
FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 people on board. A confrontation occurred inside the cockpit. The aircraft then experienced a rapid descent, changed course and diverted to Tabuk. Both pilots were injured, additional Flydubai crew members took control and the aircraft landed safely.
The Associated Press reported that Saudi authorities arrested the co-pilot after the aircraft landed in Tabuk. The motive for the incident remained unclear.
Flydubai has confirmed the cockpit altercation, the diversion and the safe landing, while saying that the underlying reasons and motives remain unknown.
Investigators will need to establish when the confrontation began, how the aircraft's controls were affected and what happened immediately before the rapid descent. The circumstances that triggered the confrontation, and whether the co-pilot deliberately attempted to crash the aircraft, remain unresolved. Until those points are established, the attempted-crash claim remains an allegation rather than a confirmed finding.
