DOMINANT ANGLE
Athens is viewing the flydubai incident as a security thriller: an Omani co-pilot suspected of wanting to crash the plane, and questions about crew control.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Flight FZ1073 issued codes 7700 and then 7500 and dropped approximately 17,400 feet in two minutes before landing in Tabouk (Protothema).
- 02
According to Ynet, as reported by To Vima, the army, the Shin Bet, and the Mossad suspect the Omani co-pilot of trying to crash the plane; the motive remains unknown.
- 03
Netanyahu called Indian pilot Smit Machchhar a "true hero" who saved 174 people (Naftemporiki).
ANALYSIS
Athens, October 1, 2026. The flydubai FZ1073 flight, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 connecting Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 passengers, including 27 children, landed on Wednesday, September 30, in Tabouk, Saudi Arabia, after a struggle in the cockpit. Protothema details the chronology: takeoff at 7:05, emergency codes 7700 and then 7500 (illicit intervention) over Jordanian airspace, a drop of approximately 17,400 feet in two minutes, from 34,000 to 16,600 feet, followed by an hour of flight at unstable altitude, a sign of manual piloting. Naftemporiki, citing Flightradar24, locates the dive between 5:21 and 5:22 GMT, from 37,000 to 17,000 feet.
To Vima relays Ynet: after an assessment involving the army, the Shin Bet, and the Mossad, Israeli authorities increasingly suspect that the Omani co-pilot attempted to crash the plane and are treating the case as a attempted attack. A official quoted by Protothema speaks of a "major disaster" averted; another, on Channel 12, mentions an attack "of the 9/11 type". The Greek newspaper also notes the Reuters version, which mentions a quarrel between the two pilots, and specifies that the motive is unknown.
Naftemporiki focuses on the suspect's profile: hired eight months earlier, he "prayed excessively all day and refused to shake hands with women", according to a colleague interviewed by Channel 16. The daily emphasizes that Oman has no diplomatic relations with Israel and that Channel 12 reports dozens of Omani pilots having landed in Israel in recent years, which raises questions about crew clearance criteria.
Passenger accounts occupy a large space: a passenger, Zvika Menas, says he tied up the aggressor with cables and headphones with two others; a pilot traveling in civilian clothes took control of the plane. Yaniv Ayoun recounts having pulled on the controls to straighten the plane. Benyamin Netanyahu praised Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, "true hero" who "saved the lives of 174 people". Protothema notes that accounts diverge on the identity of the aggressor and that flydubai has not commented on a possible terrorist motive.
SOURCES (3)
- NaftemporikiMEDIUM
- Protothema ENMEDIUM
- To VimaMEDIUM
