Tabuk (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - As flight FZ1073 of Flydubai approached the Jordanian border on Wednesday, on its way from Dubai to Tel Aviv, things suddenly took on a terrifying character, and passengers noticed that the plane was falling very quickly.

Published on: 09/30/2026 - 15:56

Passenger Almog Itali told Agence France-Presse that the passengers felt as if they were facing "very strong air turbulence, even though there were no air turbulences," describing the sensation resulting from losing thousands of feet of altitude within seconds as being like riding the "Death Train" game.

According to data from the Flight Radar website, which tracks air traffic, the plane suddenly lost altitude during the flight, falling from nearly 34,000 feet at 5:21 GMT to less than 17,000 feet at 5:22.

Then it stabilized at a certain height, before the passengers noticed that an argument was taking place in the cockpit.

However, Eataly says passengers did not suffer mass "hysteria".

"The passengers remained calm. This is the correct way to deal with such situations," he told AFP via video call from the Saudi city of Tabuk, where the plane landed safely.

"We need help"

Other passengers say that one of the pilots tried to kill the other.

In photos sent by a passenger to Agence France-Presse, passengers, including children, appear gathered in a lounge at Tabuk Airport, while some of them sit on the floor. One of the men appears wearing a white shirt and jeans stained with blood.

At Ben Gurion Airport, passenger Miriam Shira Ohon told reporters that the plane was “almost out of control” when the stabbing incident occurred over Jordan.

She explained on her mother’s phone, who was waiting for her at the airport, that “the co-pilot tried to kill the pilot and carry out a suicide attack on the plane.”

She added, "The plane was already on its way to crash, and had it not been for the quick thinking of several people who controlled the co-pilot and paralyzed him, the disaster would have occurred."

She continued, "There was a doctor who provided first aid, and people treated both of them. There were no other injuries...but the greatest fear was that the plane would crash, which is exactly what the assailant was trying to do."

A video clip from inside the plane was circulated on social media, conveying clear moments of panic on the plane, while sounds were coming from the front section, and passengers were screaming or crying.

In a video clip filmed inside the plane and reposted by Israeli users on social media, a passenger appears with blood pouring from an open wound in his head. He calls for help and says that the plane is landing in Saudi Arabia, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

"We are here during an attack on the plane. We have just subdued the terrorists, and we are preparing to land," the man said in Hebrew.

He added, "Anyone who can hear me, we need help. We are about to land in Tabuk, apparently in Saudi Arabia, in an unknown area. All passengers are safe and sound, except for the pilot."

"We need help," he added.

© 2026 AFP

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