FlyDubai says investigating mid-air pilot fight as Israel alleges terror plot

UAE based airliner Flydubai on Wednesday said the reasons for an altercation that “occurred in the flight deck of flight FZ 1073” remained unknown and were under formal investigation, according to a spokesperson.

“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,” a flydubai spokesperson said in a statement.

The FlyDubai flight to Israel issued an emergency alert and abruptly descended thousands of feet (meters). The episode prompted Israel to scramble warplanes amid concerns about a possible hijacking.

Video footage circulating on social media and reviewed by The Associated Press shows two men on the floor of the plane, bloodied and wounded. Two people appear to be providing medical treatment, while two others guard the cockpit. “We are guarding the pilot,” one person says in Hebrew. In another video, passengers weep and cry out in distress as the aircraft shakes.

The passengers and crew who intervened “saved many lives and prevented a major disaster,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, adding that Saudi Arabia arrested a pilot whose identity was not immediately shared by authorities. Saudi Arabia had no immediate comment.

The plane’s captain and first officer were injured, according to a statement from the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk carried by state-run Alekhbariya television. Passengers received medical attention from local authorities, according to a regional official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Netanyahu has warned in recent days of unspecified, heightened security threats. The country is a week away from the anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which has triggered a series of wars, and is weeks away from an election.