'3 or 4 people saved 180': Passengers recount horror on Dubai-Tel Aviv flight

A FlyDubai Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv experienced a mid-flight emergency on Wednesday morning. The plane, which was scheduled to land at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, suddenly dropped approximately 17,000 feet within two minutes, as reported by flight-tracking data. Shortly after, the aircraft sent a distress signal, indicating a potential hijack attempt.

The Boeing 737 Max, which had taken off from Dubai around 7 a.m. local time, initially altered its altitude from its cruising height of 34,000 feet to about 17,000 feet. Following the emergency, the pilots changed the distress signals twice, first to code 7700 for a general emergency and then to code 7500, which signifies unlawful interference and is used to alert authorities of an attempted hijacking.

The plane subsequently returned to code 7700 before diverting to Tabuk, a city in northern Saudi Arabia, around 270 miles from Tel Aviv. Upon landing in Tabuk at 9:44 a.m. local time, both pilots were found to be injured, and they were promptly taken to the hospital for medical attention. The exact cause of the incident remains unclear, although Israeli media reports suggest a pilot may have been involved in an attempt to crash the plane.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's national security minister, stated in a social media post that a terrorist planned to crash the plane and kill the 180 Israeli passengers on board. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting in response to the incident and is currently coordinating with authorities to ensure the safe return of all passengers to Israel.