Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv sends hijack signal, Israel scrambles fighter jets

A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv transmitted a distress signal on September 30, 2026, followed by code 7500, which is used in the event of a possible hijacking. Israel scrambled fighter jets, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting. It later emerged that the signal was linked to a fight between the pilots.

During the descent, the airliner first transmitted code 7700 — the international signal for a general emergency — and shortly afterward code 7500, which is used to report unlawful interference or a hijacking. At that moment, the aircraft was descending in manual mode, then turned around and headed toward Saudi Arabia. About 180 people were on board.

Contact with the aircraft was lost. The plane was not permitted to land at Ben Gurion Airport. It was established that the pilots were not communicating with air traffic control services either in Israel or Jordan. The crew later transmitted a distress signal again.

Pilot fight and landing in Tabuk

Information later emerged that a fight had broken out between the pilots on board. After the fight, the crew pressed the emergency button, and the airliner landed in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk. According to Israeli media reports, one pilot is of Russian origin, while the other is Ukrainian.

According to one version, one of the pilots on the Dubai–Tel Aviv flight deliberately put the aircraft into a sharp descent from an altitude of 30 thousand feet. The second pilot and passengers then tried to stop him.

A female passenger also said that people heard screams during the flight. When they opened the pilots' cockpit door, there was blood inside, and one of the pilots had been struck with a folding knife.

Source: lenta.ru

Prepared by:Yulduz Salimov