DOMINANT ANGLE
Quito recounts the story of an attempted attack in the cockpit as Israel and its passengers formulate it, while recording the more cautious version of the company and Saudi authorities.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Flight FZ1073 landed in Tabuk at 09:45 local time, after a distress call at 08:44, according to the airport cited by El Universo and El Comercio.
- 02
Netanyahu claims one pilot stabbed the other and "apparently tried to crash the plane with its occupants".
- 03
flydubai speaks of an "altercado", suspends its flights to Israel and asks to avoid speculation during the investigation.
ANALYSIS
Quito, October 1, 2026. Ecuadorian media are treating the flydubai FZ1073 incident as an air safety issue with still unclear contours. Primicias, based on an AFP dispatch, reports on a "terrorist" who allegedly attempted to crash the plane from Dubai to Tel Aviv, with 180 passengers on board, after a pilot was stabbed. The source of this qualification is Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
El Universo details the chronology. The plane landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, at 09:45 local time, after a distress call was received at 08:44. According to the airport management company, the captain and co-pilot were injured and hospitalized. The newspaper quotes Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, who said one of the pilots stabbed the other and "apparently tried to crash the plane with its occupants." It also reports the testimony of passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon, who said the plane was "practically out of control" before passengers subdued the co-pilot.
El Comercio emphasizes the airline's caution. flydubai speaks of an "altercation" in the cockpit, states that all passengers are safe and sound, asks to avoid speculation, and suspends its flights to and from Israel pending the investigation. The daily notes that Saudi authorities have not specified the cause of the injuries, and that the Indian embassy in Riyadh indicated that Indian pilot Smit Machchhar was stable. It relies on Flightradar24 to describe a sharp turn north and a loss of altitude before the Jordanian border.
Another article from El Universo, dated the same day, relays the statement from the Israeli embassy in Ecuador. The embassy mentions a failed "jihadist" attack that put more than 170 people, including 27 children, in danger. It presents the episode as also targeting the relationship between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the spirit of the Abraham Accords, and highlights the assistance received from Saudi teams despite the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Ecuadorian account thus remains constructed around Israeli statements, with factual details on the itinerary and schedules, while the aggressor's motive is not established by any of the Saudi or Emirati sources cited.
SOURCES (3)
- El UniversoMEDIUM
- Pasajera de vuelo de Flydubai con destino a Israel asegura que el piloto intentó estrellar el avión
- Esto es lo que se sabe del incidente del avión FlyDubai que iba a Israel
- Benjamin Netanyahu apunta a que uno de los pilotos intentó estrellar el avión de FlyDubai
- Israel califica de ataque yihadista el incidente en vuelo de Flydubai
- PrimiciasMEDIUM
- El Comercio ECMEDIUM
