Hijacked Flight to Israel Saved After Passengers Storm Cockpit

A flight carrying Israelis home from Dubai for Sukkos was hijacked Wednesday morning, setting off an extraordinary midair struggle before passengers and crew reportedly forced their way into the cockpit and overpowered the attacker. The plane eventually made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, with everyone aboard safely on the ground.

According to the latest Israeli assessment, the co-pilot attacked the captain during the flight and attempted to seize control of the aircraft. As the plane began plunging, crew members and Israeli passengers reportedly broke through the cockpit door and subdued him, while other pilots who happened to be traveling aboard the flight were able to help bring the aircraft safely down.

The emergency immediately triggered a major response in Israel. Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled as the flight changed direction and contact was disrupted, while Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held an urgent security consultation. According to reports, the IDF chief of staff also consulted with the heads of the Shin Bet and Mossad as officials tried to determine what was happening aboard the Israel-bound flight.

For a time, there was little information beyond the ominous signals coming from the aircraft itself. The plane had transmitted the international code used for a general emergency and then switched to 7500, the code signaling unlawful interference or hijacking, while its route shifted over the region and it temporarily disappeared from flight-tracking apps.

The latest information gathered from passengers has since led Israeli officials to treat what happened as a full-fledged terror attack. According to those reports, the co-pilot repeatedly stabbed the captain and indications are mounting that he intended to take control of the aircraft and crash it with the passengers aboard.

As the attack unfolded inside the cockpit, the plane went into a terrifying descent. Passengers described a violent scene at the front of the aircraft as several Israelis rushed forward, forced their way through the cockpit door and helped overpower the attacker while the plane was rapidly losing altitude.

One passenger said that a member of the flight crew had attacked the pilot with a knife and interfered with the aircraft’s systems, after which two passengers stormed the cockpit and subdued him. The passenger also said that, remarkably, other pilots were traveling aboard the flight and were able to help land the aircraft after the attacker had been restrained.

Another passenger described how the Israeli passengers took control of the situation and caught the attacker after entering the cockpit. Photographs from aboard the plane later showed several of those who had taken part in the struggle with heavily stained clothing after helping restrain the attacker and assist the wounded.

Flight data later revealed the scale of the plunge. FlyDubai flight FZ1073 was carrying 174 passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv when its altitude began fluctuating sharply at 5:21 a.m. UTC. Less than a minute later, the aircraft dropped more than 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds before eventually stabilizing.

At 5:31, the aircraft transmitted 7700, the international general emergency code. Seven minutes later it switched to 7500, the code for unlawful interference or hijacking, confirming the fears already spreading among those following the flight from Israel.

Early in the incident, officials had examined whether the emergency could have resulted from a violent altercation between the pilots. That assessment changed as testimony was taken from passengers and the details of the struggle inside the cockpit became clearer, with Israel now investigating the incident as a terror attack.

A senior Israeli official said that “a very serious disaster was prevented.” The co-pilot is now being questioned, while officials are investigating reports that he may be from one of the Gulf states, with Oman mentioned in some accounts, though that detail has not yet been confirmed.

After the attacker was subdued and the aircraft stabilized, contact was established with Saudi authorities and the plane diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It landed there at approximately 6:45 a.m. UTC, with all 174 passengers accounted for.

The passengers are still in Saudi Arabia during Chol Hamoed Sukkos, waiting to return home to Eretz Yisroel. FlyDubai says another aircraft is being sent from Dubai to Saudi Arabia to pick them up and continue with them to Israel.

In the wake of the dramatic rescue, calls spread to strengthen Mivtza Arba Minim during the remaining days of Sukkos, bringing the mitzvah to more Yidden in gratitude for the extraordinary nes.