United News of Bangladesh

A FlyDubai passenger plane traveling from Dubai to Israel made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after an incident involving its pilots, briefly raising fears of a possible hijacking and prompting Israel to scramble fighter jets. Israeli media, citing security officials, reported that the incident was caused by a dispute between the two pilots. All passengers and crew members were safe, and the plane landed at Tabuk, which serves as both a civilian and military base. The plane had sent an emergency alert, according to publicly available flight-tracking data. About 2½ hours after leaving Dubai, the aircraft suddenly dropped from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet within a minute. It then made an unusual turn near the Jordanian border before landing in Tabuk about an hour later, according to FlightRadar24. A regional official familiar with the incident said a fight had broken out in the cockpit and apparently involved the pilots. The cause of the dispute was not immediately known. “The crew have been questioned as part of the investigation,” the official said, without saying whether anyone had been detained. An Israeli official said authorities were investigating whether the incident could have been an attempt to target Israelis. Another official confirmed that Israel scrambled fighter jets after fearing the plane, which was carrying dozens of Israeli citizens, could have been hijacked. All three officials spoke anonymously because the investigation was ongoing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the situation was under control and that efforts were underway to bring the passengers home. Passengers told Israel’s Channel 12 by phone that they heard shouting from the front of the plane during the argument between the pilots. They also said the aircraft dropped sharply before landing in Saudi Arabia. The passengers said they remained on the plane while a large number of Saudi security personnel surrounded it. FlyDubai later confirmed that flight FZ 1073, which was traveling to Ben Gurion Airport, had experienced an incident and landed safely in Tabuk. “Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities,” the airline said, adding that further updates would be provided as confirmed information became available. Flight-tracking data showed that the aircraft was a Boeing 737 Max 8. FlyDubai, a low-cost sister airline of Emirates, operates an all-737 fleet and has nearly 100 aircraft, including 69 Max 8s. The UAE has become a popular destination for Israeli tourists since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 2020. Commercial flights between Israel and the UAE began following the normalization of ties. Incidents involving cockpit disputes are rare but have occurred before. In 2022, two Air France pilots were suspended after fighting in the cockpit during a Geneva-to-Paris flight. That plane was not diverted and completed its journey. Israel has not experienced a plane hijacking in decades but maintains some of the world's strictest airport security measures, partly because Israeli interests were targeted in several hijackings and attacks by Palestinian militants in the 1960s and 1970s. Dubai International Airport, where the flight originated, is the Middle East’s busiest airport and handled a record 95.2 million passengers last year.