Flydubai flight triggers hijacking code after pilots reportedly get into fight
Illustrative photo: Flydubai aircraft (collage by RBC-Ukraine)
A Flydubai passenger plane flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv turned around over Saudi Arabia and transmitted two emergency signals. One of them indicates a hijacking, The Times of Israel reports.
What is known about the flight
The aircraft initially transmitted code 7700, an international signal indicating an emergency. Flight-tracking data showed the alert.
Shortly afterward, the flight transmitted code 7500, which indicates a hijacking or unlawful interference.
According to security services sources, Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled to the aircraft. No further details about the incident were immediately available.
Israeli journalist Amit Segal said that an aircraft traveling from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv had been diverted to Saudi Arabia amid concerns about a possible hijacking.
“The plane activated distress signals, and there has been no contact with it since. All possibilities are, of course, being investigated,” he added.
“A flydubai flight that activated an emergency code used to signal unlawful interference with the flight,” Segal said.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, it later emerged that the pilots had been arguing during the flight. The incident escalated into a physical fight, prompting the code to be activated.
As RBC-Ukraine reported, during his visit to the UAE, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed the local leader intelligence indicating a possible resumption of Iran’s nuclear program.
According to CNN, the intelligence reportedly includes new construction at the “Pickaxe” site south of Tehran.
US-Iran talks involving Qatari mediators ended without an agreement this week.
According to Axios, Washington is demanding nuclear concessions from Tehran, while Iran wants the United States to lift its naval blockade.
