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Like a 'vertical roller coaster': Simulating flydubai flight FZ1073's sudden plunge

Read the original at Dawn ↗
Cite

Reuters. (2026, October 4). Like a 'vertical roller coaster': Simulating flydubai flight FZ1073's sudden plunge. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/2034726/like-a-vertical-roller-coaster-simulating-flydubai-flight-fz1073s-sudden-plunge

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Dawn · collected 2026-10-04 · by Reuters

Quick Summary

Flydubai’s flight FZ1073 experienced a sudden plunge of 16,000 feet over about 30 seconds after a co-pilot attacked the captain on Wednesday. The incident was described as a “terrorist attack” by the UAE prosecutor general and involved an emergency crash axe wielded against the pilot. An aviation instructor recreated the descent in a flight simulator for Reuters, likening it to a vertical roller coaster that would subject passengers to intense negative G-forces. The aircraft’s autopilot disconnected before the plunge began, leading to rapid acceleration, but was eventually levelled out and safely landed after passengers subdued the co-pilot.
Written by AI on 2026-10-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 30, 2026, a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv signaled an emergency and was diverted to land at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. The incident initially raised concerns about a possible hijacking, prompting Israel to scramble warplanes. However, Israeli officials later reported that the emergency signals were due to a physical altercation between the plane's two pilots rather than a hijacking attempt.

The flight, identified as Flydubai Flight FZ1073, transmitted multiple emergency alerts after takeoff and over Jordanian airspace before landing safely in Saudi Arabia. Passengers on board managed to overpower the attacker, who was later identified by UAE officials as Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami. Al-Hammami allegedly attempted to crash the plane into Tel Aviv's airport but was stopped by passengers.

UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi stated that signs of al-Hammami’s radicalization first emerged in 2017 while he was studying engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. He reportedly became influenced by extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organizations during this period.

Written for “Flydubai Hijacker's Radicalization Path” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 345 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Flydubai Hijacker's Radicalization Path
Crime & Law · 346 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 9% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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Hedges 2 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
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Hedges 7 of 51 claims Outlet record 66/100
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Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
9%
2 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
72/100
Dawn's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
346
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Reuters
880 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Trump struck a conciliatory note despite his history of questioning election results, telling The New York Times: “I am absolutely willing to accept those results” and promising to “work with the Democrats”.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · US midterms: Democrats win Congress in major setback for Trump
🔮 As Speaker, Mr. Jeffries, representing a New York City congressional district, would preside over a majority that will be sworn in the first week of January, taking the reins from Republicans who controlled the House for the past four years. “Today begins the great American comeback,” Mr. Jeffries proclaimed in a victory speech late on Tuesday after media outlets projected the likelihood of Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.
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2026-11-04 · assertive framing · US midterms: Democrats projected to flip Senate and take full control of Congress
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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 880 articles by Reuters →

Topics

737 MAX 8 Boeing FZ1073 Flydubai Reuters

Subjects

Paduanelli PERSON · 4× Reuters ORG · 4× Boeing ORG · 3× Flydubai ORG · 3× al-Hammami’s PERSON · 2× ALPA Simulation ORG · 1× Alberto Paduanelli PERSON · 1× England GPE · 1× Loddon GPE · 1× Sherfield GPE · 1×

Narrative

“A plunge of 16,000 feet (4,877 metres) over 30 seconds will feel like you are over on a very, very vertical roller coaster,” Paduanelli said, sitting at the controls of the simulator cockpit. “The difference is that on the roller coaster, you know what’s happening,” he said, adding that with a sudden drop “you feel the negative g-force on your body”.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-04
🔮 would have felt like a “vertical roller coaster”, according to an aviation instructor who recreated the descent in a flight simulator for Reuters.
2026-10-04 · Dawn
Like a 'vertical roller coaster': Simulating flydubai flight FZ1073's sudden plunge · assertive framing

Claims (23 extracted, 2 hedged)

Flydubai’s flight FZ1073, which plunged 16,000 feet in about 30 seconds before being levelled out and landing safely asserted
which → plunge → seconds
would have felt like a “vertical roller coaster”, according to an aviation instructor who recreated the descent in a flight simulator for Reuters. uncertain
who → feel → Reuters
The steep fall, after an attack on the captain by the co-pilot during a flight on Wednesday, would have put huge strain on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft — as well as the passengers and crew, said Alberto Paduanelli, owner of ALPA Simulation in Sherfield on Loddon, southern England. asserted
Paduanelli → put → Loddon
The co-pilot of the flydubai jet, which was bound for Israel from Dubai, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday, calling the incident a “terrorist attack”. asserted
general → bind → incident
The co-pilot was identified as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national, two sources with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters. asserted
sources → identify → Reuters
UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of his identity. asserted
authorities → respond → identity
Reuters could not independently reach al-Hammami for comment. uncertain
Reuters → reach → comment
Flydubai says the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation and it cannot comment further. asserted
it → say → investigation
Oman has yet to comment on the incident. asserted
Oman → have → incident
“A plunge of 16,000 feet (4,877 metres) over 30 seconds will feel like you are over on a very, very vertical roller coaster,” Paduanelli said, sitting at the controls of the simulator cockpit. “The difference is that on the roller coaster, you know what’s happening,” he said, adding that with a sudden drop “you feel the negative g-force on your body”. asserted
you → feel → body
For passengers who are not strapped in, “Your body will literally lift from the seat”, he said. asserted
he → strap → seat
Using a simulator to recreate the incident, Paduanelli said the aircraft’s autopilot disconnected before the plunge began, causing the jet to accelerate rapidly. asserted
jet → use → incident
United States President Donald Trump has praised the Boeing jet for withstanding the severe forces put on it during the incident. asserted
Trump → praise → incident
The plane was levelled out after passengers overpowered the co-pilot, before a reserve crew of pilots onboard landed the plane. asserted
crew → level → plane
“It was an amazing show of precise and powerful structural planning and design,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the 737 MAX “was able to withstand G Forces and Strain far beyond what it was designed and expected to do”. asserted
it → post → what
Boeing did not respond to a request for comment. asserted
Boeing → respond → comment
Aircraft are designed and tested to withstand substantial aerodynamic loads, but Paduanelli said a prolonged high-speed dive can place extreme strain on an airframe. asserted
dive → design → airframe
“This was nothing but a miracle that nothing was hurt apart from the captain, unfortunately, and that two pilots were onboard,” Paduanelli said. asserted
Paduanelli → hurt → captain
Details about al-Hammami’s past have trickled out. asserted
Details → trickle → past
Royal Air Maroc told Reuters he did a three-month training with the airline in 2025 but his application to work there afterwards was rejected. asserted
application → tell → 2025
Buckinghamshire New University in Britain said he did a distance-learning course in aviation management with the institution, but no pilot training. asserted
he → say → institution
An Australian Federal Police spokesperson said on Sunday that authorities there were investigating al-Hammami’s “links to Australia”. asserted
authorities → say → Australia
A source briefed on the investigation said the co-pilot studied at a university in Melbourne. asserted
pilot → brief → Melbourne
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