A Flydubai flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv sparked a major regional security emergency Wednesday morning after transmitting international distress codes indicating both a general emergency and possible hijacking, prompting Israeli fighter jets to scramble and senior Israeli officials to convene urgent security consultations. The aircraft, carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children, was ultimately diverted to Saudi Arabia.
The flight departed the United Arab Emirates at approximately 7:05 a.m. and had been scheduled to arrive at Ben Gurion Airport at around 9:30 a.m. Roughly 90 minutes into the flight, however, the aircraft transmitted squawk code 7700, the international code for a general emergency, followed by 7500 — the code used to indicate unlawful interference or a possible hijacking.
The aircraft then made a sharp change in course while over Jordanian airspace, manually descended and began flying through Saudi airspace toward Tabuk. At one point, the plane also temporarily disappeared from publicly available flight-tracking applications before reappearing.
The alarming signals immediately triggered a major response in Israel. Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled, while Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held an emergency consultation involving senior officials from the IDF, Shin Bet, Mossad, Israel Police and National Security Council.
During the tense initial minutes, Israeli authorities were unable to determine what was happening aboard the aircraft. A security official said there was no definitive information indicating that the plane had been hijacked, but the inability to establish contact with the pilot was causing serious concern. Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy also conducted a situation assessment as authorities prepared for multiple scenarios.
After an extended period of uncertainty, Israeli security officials received information indicating that the aircraft was heading for a landing in Saudi Arabia. The plane subsequently landed at Tabuk Airport.
Israeli inquiries into the extraordinary incident indicated that the emergency was apparently triggered by a physical altercation between the two pilots inside the cockpit. During the confrontation, one of the pilots reportedly activated the aircraft’s emergency controls, setting off the series of distress signals that led authorities to initially fear a hijacking.
What began as an apparent cockpit dispute thus rapidly escalated into a major international security incident, placing Israeli defense officials on alert and triggering an airborne military response before the circumstances aboard the aircraft became clear.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
