- Team TOI Plus
- TIMESOFINDIA.COMUpdated: Sep 30, 2026, 20:54 IST IST
There is no one coherent account of what transpired on board flight FZ103. What is known so far is that the co-pilot stabbed the pilot; the plane plunged 14,000 ft; passengers got involved in restraining the pilot or the pilots; multiple emergency signals were sent out from the cockpit; and eventually the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
The flight was to take off at 7:00 am Dubai time and land in Tel Aviv nearly three hours later. Instead, a little before it was set to enter Israeli airspace, the flight plunged around 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds and had to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
It’s one of the most bizarre aviation stories in aviation history. The flight transmitted multiple emergency signals. Fighter jets were reportedly scrambled in Israel and the flight was then diverted to Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.