Altercation on flight deck caused flydubai incident, says airline

Dubai-based carrier flydubai has confirmed the cause of the incident that took place earlier on Wednesday involving a flight from Dubai to Israel.

“An altercation occurred in the flight deck of flight FZ 1073, operating from Dubai International (DXB) to Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV), on September 30,” the airline said.

“The aircraft was successfully secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk Airport (TUU). All passengers and crew are safe and accounted for,” the airline added.

The airline has deployed two replacement aircraft to Tabuk to relieve the passengers and crew.

The airline added that the incident had no impact on other scheduled operations across the flydubai network.

“At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation. We urge all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts,” the airline added.

Earlier today, several unconfirmed media and social media reports claimed that the flight signalled an emergency before turning around, citing flight-tracking data shared by Flightradar24.

Flightradar24 data showed the aircraft, flight FDB1073, squawking 7700, the general emergency code used by aircraft to signal an emergency. The data also fuelled speculation about what may have prompted the diversion, although flydubai has not provided further details about the incident.

The flight had earlier squawked 7500, the transponder code for unlawful interference, before switching to 7700 as it flew near Tabuk at an altitude of about 5,000 feet. The aircraft subsequently landed at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.