DOMINANT ANGLE
Buenos Aires is interpreting the incident as a possible attempted aerial attack, initially relying on the Israeli version, then downplaying it due to a lack of official confirmation of the motive.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Flight FZ1073 issued codes 7700 and then 7500 after a drop of nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds, according to Perfil.
- 02
Netanyahu claims one pilot stabbed the other and tried to crash the plane; the attacker is being held in Saudi Arabia.
- 03
flydubai has suspended its flights to and from Israel and calls for avoiding premature speculation during the investigation.
ANALYSIS
Buenos Aires, October 1, 2026. The Argentine press reconstructs the incident of flydubai flight FZ1073 as a possible in-flight attack. The Boeing 737, which departed from Dubai to Tel Aviv, landed in Tabouk, in northwest Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, September 30. Perfil details the sequence: a drop of nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds, then the 7700 code (general emergency), the 7500 code (illicit intervention) and a return to 7700 before landing.
La Nación and Infobae report Benyamin Netanyahu's version: "One of the pilots stabbed the other and, apparently, tried to crash the plane." The copilot, from Oman, allegedly tried to sabotage the systems after attacking the Indian captain; a passenger and a crew member subdued him. La Nación also reports that the Israeli government is talking about a "jihadist attack attempt."
The headlines remain cautious about what has been established. Ámbito recalls that the hypotheses of a suicide attempt or provoked fall have not been officially confirmed. flydubai mentions a "disagreement" in the cockpit and invites people to refrain from premature conjectures; it has sent two replacement planes to Tabouk and suspended its flights to Israel. On LN+, analyst Andrés Repetto considers the hijacking attempt to be the main hypothesis, without a confirmed motive.
The bulk of the coverage falls under the security register: La Nación explains why Israel sent two fighter jets and describes the military protocol, up to the extreme option of shooting down a civilian aircraft; Infobae lists the precedents of crews that have tried to cause an accident, including the Horizon Air episode in October 2023.
The human aspect comes next: testimonies from Israeli passengers collected by Israeli channels, hospitalization of the two pilots, stable condition of Captain Smit Machchhar according to the Indian embassy in Riyadh, praise for the "heroism" of the passengers by the Israeli opposition, including Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golán. The passengers were then taken to Ben Gurion.
SOURCES (4)
- La NaciónMEDIUM
- AmbitoMEDIUM
- PerfilMEDIUM
