A “violent incident” between two pilots caused a Flydubai plane traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv to divert to Saudi Arabia, sources told CNN. The plane descended 17,400 feet (from 34,000 to about 16,600 feet) over northwest Saudi Arabia in just over two minutes around 1:20 a.m. ET, flight tracking data reviewed by CNN shows. The plane then transmitted an emergency signal at 1:32 a.m. ET and landed shortly before 3 a.m. ET in Saudi Arabia. A Flydubai spokesperson said flight FZ 1073 “experienced an incident en route” and landed at Tabuk airport in the northwest of the kingdom. He said all passengers were safe and accounted for. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the situation was under control and that “all measures are now being taken to safely return Israeli passengers to Israel.” An Israeli official said the incident was not a hijacking, adding that they understood it was an internal incident for the personnel on board. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held a security consultation and Israeli fighter jets were dispatched after the emergency signal was sent, an Israeli military spokesperson told CNN. The emergency landing in Tabuk marked a rare mass arrival of Israelis to Saudi Arabia, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia opened its airspace to flights bound for Israel and Israeli airlines in 2022 as part of a normalization push brokered by the United States. Riyadh says it will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without an independent Palestinian state. This is a developing story and will be updated.
