Aviation experts are in disbelief that a flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 survived a plunge of thousands of feet in less than a minute and landed safely in Saudi Arabia after a violent mid-air cockpit confrontation.
Flight FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 passengers on Wednesday when a fight between the two pilots escalated into a life-threatening emergency. The aircraft plunged about 16,000 feet, dropping from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in roughly a minute. The sharpest drop of 14,125 feet occurred in just 29 seconds, as per flightradar24 data.
According to news agency AP, aviation experts were surprised the plane did not crash after a descent so extreme that most of the rudder was ripped off the tail.
Deep Dive
What led to the flydubai flight's emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia?
How did the passengers respond to the cockpit attack on the flydubai flight?
What safety measures are in place to prevent cockpit attacks like the one on the flydubai flight?
Former United Airlines pilot and aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said he was surprised the plane landed safely. “That was a serious descent and strong aerodynamic forces on that rudder for that to happen. I’m just amazed the aircraft didn’t come apart,” Arroyo told AP.
Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said the plane may not have been able to recover if it had dropped below 10,000 feet. “It is remarkable they were able to pull out of that dive. What saved them is there was enough altitude left for them to recover,” said Guzzetti, a former crash investigator with the US National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration.
Aviation expert Sanat Kaul said the foiled flydubai attack appeared to be a possible “suicide attempt by a mentally disturbed pilot” and demanded a proper investigation.
“The Indian co-pilot sitting with him handled the situation very well... This is not the first such incident. There have been several cases in the past, including one involving an Egyptian airline,” he said. “A full investigation will reveal what happened and why he attempted this,” Kaul told ANI.
Passengers helped stop cockpit attack
The averted disaster followed an alleged attack inside the cockpit. Israeli officials said the co-pilot stabbed Indian Captain Smit Machchhar and allegedly attempted to take control of the aircraft and crash it.
Passengers and crew entered the cockpit and overpowered the attacker as the plane rapidly lost altitude. The aircraft diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, where both pilots were hospitalised.
The plane landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk about an hour after issuing a distress call, the airport said. “Suddenly the aircraft started to fall down, like, a massive turbulence, like a massive G force, for 20 or 30 seconds,” a passenger told AP.
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‘Squawk’ call as passengers screamed
A person who heard the flight's communications with air traffic control said that the pilot made a panicked “squawk” (mayday) call. The pilot also reportedly requested an emergency landing and said ambulances would be needed.
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The emergency prompted Israel to scramble fighter aircraft as authorities feared that the flight had been hijacked. The pilot returned towards Saudi Arabia and landed in Tabuk's Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport.
Plane made erratic turn before landing
Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft making an unusual manoeuvre close to the Jordanian border after its steep descent. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 eventually landed in Tabuk at 9:45 am, around an hour after the distress call, according to a statement from Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport.
Passenger Almog Italie described the descent as a sudden and violent fall rather than ordinary turbulence.
“Suddenly the aircraft started to fall down, like, a massive turbulence, like a massive G force, for 20 or 30 seconds,” he said.
Flydubai, a low-cost sister carrier of Emirates, has become an important link between the UAE and Israel since the two countries normalised relations in 2020.
The airline has been cooperating with authorities investigating the incident.