UAE opens formal probe into cockpit altercation that diverted Dubai-Tel Aviv flight

The United Arab Emirates’ attorney general ordered the formation of a specialized investigation team on Thursday to examine an altercation aboard a flydubai flight that forced the aircraft to divert and make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia a day earlier.

Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi directed a team of specialized public prosecutors to investigate flydubai flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai International Airport to Tel Aviv before diverting and landing safely in Tabuk, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, according to the UAE’s official news agency, WAM. Al Shamsi instructed investigators to gather evidence, establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident, and determine its underlying motives, including whether it involved any element of terrorism, prior planning or coordinated direction.

UAE judicial authorities hold jurisdiction over the case because the aircraft is registered in the UAE and operates under its flag, WAM reported, meaning UAE law applies to offenses committed aboard the plane even when they occur outside the country’s territory.

The flight, carrying 174 passengers, made its emergency landing Wednesday at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk after an altercation broke out inside the cockpit. Flydubai said in a statement that crew members secured the aircraft and safely diverted it to Saudi Arabia following the incident. Airport officials said both the captain and first officer sustained injuries and were taken to a hospital, while all passengers and remaining crew were confirmed safe and accounted for. Passengers later continued their journey aboard an alternative aircraft flydubai arranged out of Tabuk.

Saudi Arabia’s National Transport Safety Centre said separately that its own safety investigation team had begun examining the incident, working to determine the circumstances involved, assess any aviation safety implications, and gather relevant evidence, with coordination continuing between Saudi and UAE authorities as both countries pursue parallel inquiries into what happened in the cockpit.

The formal UAE investigation adds an official, judicial dimension to an incident that had already drawn significant international attention, including separate remarks from Israeli officials characterizing the episode in starker terms and renewed scrutiny of security protocols aboard commercial flights operating in the region. With prosecutors now examining whether the altercation involved any element of planning or terrorism, the inquiry’s findings are likely to shape how both governments, and the broader aviation industry, respond to a cockpit security scare that unfolded on a route connecting two of the Middle East’s busiest air corridors.