[AP]
[AP]

A passenger jet flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv transmitted a hijacking signal after a physical altercation broke out between its pilots in the cockpit.

According to Israeli media outlet Ynet, flydubai Flight FZ1073, carrying about 180 passengers, departed Dubai International Airport at 7:05 a.m. Wednesday (local time) and was scheduled to arrive at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport at 9:30 a.m.

About 90 minutes after takeoff, as the aircraft entered Jordanian airspace, it transmitted "Code 7700," indicating a general emergency, followed shortly by "Code 7500," which signals unlawful interference or hijacking.

CNN reported that the aircraft descended about 17,400 feet (approximately 5,300 meters) in just two minutes. The plane then turned around in Saudi airspace and flew at low altitude before landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk.

Israel scrambled air force fighter jets in response, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz convened an emergency meeting.

flydubai confirmed that the distress signals were sent as a result of a physical altercation between the pilots. A regional official briefed on the incident told The Associated Press that the cause of the dispute was not immediately clear.

Israel's Channel 12 reported that one of the pilots lost consciousness during the fight. The outlet said the two pilots in the cockpit were a Russian and a Ukrainian national.

Israeli authorities are also investigating the possibility that one of the pilots deliberately attempted to crash the aircraft.

Emergency landings caused by crew altercations are rare but not without precedent. In 2022, two pilots aboard an Air France flight from Geneva to Paris came to blows in the cockpit and were later suspended. That aircraft did not deviate from its route and landed as scheduled.

flydubai is the low-cost sister airline of Emirates. The United Arab Emirates has become a popular destination for Israeli tourists since normalizing diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020.


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