An Israel-bound flight suddenly dropped thousands of feet. What happened in the cockpit triggered hijacking fears

A FlyDubai flight bound for Israel was cruising toward Tel Aviv when it suddenly plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. Minutes later, the aircraft was broadcasting emergency codes while Israel scrambled fighter jets over fears someone may have taken control of the plane.

Flight FZ1073 had left Dubai earlier Wednesday carrying more than 150 passengers. The Boeing 737 eventually landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, but by then authorities were no longer looking at an ordinary in-flight emergency.

Israeli officials now believe the co-pilot may have attacked the captain inside the cockpit. Passengers have also described helping bring the situation under control before the plane reached Saudi Arabia.

Passengers say they helped subdue the suspected attacker

Early reports described a fight between the pilots, but the account became more serious as passengers began describing what they saw. Israeli officials told Reuters they believe the co-pilot stabbed the captain before other crew members entered the cockpit and took control.

Passengers have since offered their own accounts of the confrontation. One traveler told Ynet that several people rushed toward the cockpit after hearing screams and helped subdue the suspected attacker.

Another passenger recorded a video while the plane was still preparing to land and said those on board had brought the situation under control. He described the incident as a hijacking and asked for help, though that was his characterization of events while the investigation was still unfolding.

Saudi authorities said both pilots required hospital treatment after the plane landed. Israeli officials are now investigating whether the incident was an attempted terror attack, but authorities have not publicly established a motive or released a final account of what happened.

FlyDubai has confirmed only that FZ1073 experienced an incident and diverted safely to Tabuk. The airline said it was working with authorities and would release additional information as details were confirmed.

The emergency codes show why hijacking fears spread so quickly

Authorities on the ground initially had none of those passenger accounts. What they could see was an Israel-bound aircraft dropping sharply while its transponder began sending a sequence of emergency codes.

Flight tracking data showed the plane first transmitting 7700, which indicates a general emergency. Several minutes later, it switched to 7500, the code associated with hijacking or other unlawful interference, before eventually returning to 7700.

That second code carries a very specific warning. The Federal Aviation Administration says 7500 means an aircraft is being hijacked or forced toward another destination and triggers a special emergency indicator for air traffic controllers.

That helps explain why Israel scrambled fighter jets before authorities knew what passengers and crew were dealing with inside the cockpit. Officials were watching a passenger plane rapidly lose altitude while receiving a signal designed to warn that someone may have interfered with the flight.

The diversion also left the passengers in Saudi Arabia, which has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel. Israeli authorities then had to coordinate their return while Saudi officials investigated the crew and the incident aboard the aircraft.

Investigators still need to determine exactly what motivated the confrontation and who transmitted the emergency codes. What is clearer now is that people aboard the flight say they did more than just witness the crisis unfolding.

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