But on Wednesday, two hours into the short journey, flight FZ1073 rapidly turned to chaos.
asserted
FZ1073 → turn → chaos
Screams filled the cabin as 174 passengers plunged 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.
asserted
passengers → fill → seconds
Crew members called for help.
asserted
members → call → help
A distress signal was sent.
asserted
signal → send → ?
Passengers stormed the cockpit – usually locked, if not for some quick thinking by a pilot close to losing consciousness after apparently being stabbed by his co-pilot – to find blood everywhere.
asserted
Passengers → storm → blood
Here is what we know about how the flight unfolded.
asserted
flight → know → what
September 30, 7.05am (Dubai time)
After a 20-minute delay, flydubai flight FZ1073 departs Dubai International Airport, bound for Tel Aviv, Israel.
asserted
FZ1073 → depart → Aviv
The three-year-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 climbs to a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet.
asserted
MAX → climb → feet
Two hours and 16 minutes into the flight, which typically takes about 3½ hours, FZ1073 plummets.
asserted
FZ1073 → take → hours
According to data captured by flightradar24, it plunges more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.
uncertain
it → accord → seconds
“Suddenly, the aeroplane started to, like a rollercoaster, to drop down like a massive G-force,” passenger Almog Itali told BBC’s Newsnight.
asserted
Itali → start → Newsnight
A sharp ascent follows, but the plane abruptly drops again.
asserted
plane → follow → ?
It’s at this point that people rush to the cockpit, according to Itali.
uncertain
people → ’ → Itali
About three or four passengers subdue the co-pilot, acquiring minor injuries in the process.
asserted
passengers → subdue → process
An Israeli passenger said the crew asked passengers for help, and passengers helped tie down the co-pilot after tackling him.
asserted
passengers → say → him
They literally saved our lives,” Itali said.
asserted
Itali → save → lives
According to Yasmin Abukasis, whose daughter Miriam was on the flight, a man holding a knife had forced one of the pilots onto the floor.
uncertain
man → accord → floor
Blood was everywhere, and loud screams could be heard.
uncertain
screams → hear → ?
In total, the aircraft falls 17,350 feet, going from 34,000 feet to 16,650 feet in two minutes.
asserted
aircraft → fall → minutes
The safest passengers during this erratic change in altitude would have been those seated with their seatbelts securely fastened, says Dr Salim Hijazeen, a lecturer in aviation at Swinburne University of Technology.
asserted
Hijazeen → seat → Technology
When Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 dropped 178 feet in 4.6 seconds and a total 6000 feet in three minutes, in May 2024, British passenger Geoff Kitchen, 73, suffered a cardiac arrest and died.
uncertain
Kitchen → drop → arrest
His wife, Linda, sustained a head wound and spinal fractures in the incident.
asserted
wife → sustain → incident
“Those rapid changes in movement are what could cause passengers to be lifted from their seats or thrown around the cabin,” Hijazeen said.
uncertain
Hijazeen → cause → cabin
First emergency alert issued
The aircraft issues an emergency alert signal, known as a “squawk 7700”, as it flies along the Jordan-Saudi Arabia border.
asserted
it → issue → border
A squawk 7700 is an internationally standardised code that indicates a “general emergency”, which could be anything from engine failure to a severe medical crisis.
uncertain
which → indicate → crisis
It automatically highlights the aircraft on air traffic control’s radar, making it priority.
asserted
it → highlight → radar
If needed, air traffic control will clear surrounding airspace to get the aircraft to the nearest runway.
asserted
control → need → runway
The code is discrete – no verbal radio call is necessary as it’s transmitted directly through the aircraft transponder when the pilot types in the four digits directly.
asserted
pilot → transmit → digits
Passengers take control
asserted
Passengers → take → control
After the altitude stabilises at about 15,000 feet, a second emergency alert – a squawk 7500, meaning “unlawful interference” – is sent, sparking fears of a hijacking.
asserted
alert → stabilise → hijacking
The aircraft turns west and briefly enters Jordanian airspace, then turns 180 degrees back towards Saudi Arabia, flying south-west in the direction of Tabuk.
asserted
aircraft → turn → Tabuk
An unnamed passenger later tells the Jerusalem Post that two other passengers seated at the back of the plane were off-duty pilots.
asserted
pilots → tell → duty
“I shouted at them to run and take control of the plane,” the passenger said.
asserted
passenger → shout → plane
The injured pilot – identified as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar – received life-saving care from a dentist on board, the passenger said.
asserted
passenger → identify → board
Plans for emergency landing
Tabuk air traffic controllers receive a distress call, requesting permission for an emergency landing.
asserted
controllers → receive → landing
A video circulated by Israeli media appears to show a man on board the flight with blood on his face.
asserted
video → circulate → face
“We’re here – the plane – we’ve just taken control of the terrorists.
asserted
we → ’re → terrorists
We’re about to land,” he says.
asserted
he → ’re → ?
A motive for the attack has not yet been established.
asserted
motive → establish → attack
The aircraft’s transponder switches back to squawk 7700, the code for “general emergency”.
asserted
transponder → switch → emergency
…and 29 more, not listed.
The Aporia
