An incident involving FlyDubai flight FZ1073 has been described by the Israeli government as an act of terrorism carried out by an Omani Muslim pilot. However, numerous inconsistencies in the official account have left aviation experts around the world with serious questions.
The deeper investigators dig, the more new information emerges, and much of it appears to conflict with established principles of aviation physics and flight engineering, according to scientists examining the case. The Print India, reporting Monday, October 5, 2026, compiled these concerns into several key questions.
How Did the Plane Descend So Rapidly?
Flight tracking data for FZ1073 comes primarily from the flight monitoring application Flightradar24. According to that data, the aircraft dropped from 30,875 feet to 16,750 feet between 05:22:07 and 05:22:36 UTC, a loss of 14,125 feet in just 29 seconds.
According to Israel’s official statement, this occurred because an Omani co-pilot stabbed an Indian pilot, followed by passengers and cabin crew subduing the attacker. Aviation experts, however, describe this as an extraordinary rate of vertical descent.
Scientists say flight tracking data alone is insufficient to fully understand what happened without additional cockpit data, such as information from the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system.
Why Did the Aircraft Send Unusual Signals?
According to flight monitors, FZ1073 initially transmitted code 7700, internationally recognized as a general emergency signal. That code then changed to 7500, which signals unlawful interference or hijacking. Before landing in Tabuk, the code changed once more back to 7700.
Flightradar24 data indicates these codes were transmitted while the aircraft was still in flight. With this code, air traffic controllers on the ground would know something was wrong, but not necessarily what. The shift to code 7500 specifically indicates something significant had changed in the situation unfolding onboard.
Why Did the Plane Climb Back Up After Its Sudden Descent?
After its dramatic drop, FlyDubai’s aircraft reportedly climbed back up, then oscillated between ascending and descending several times before eventually stabilizing. This raises an obvious question among experts: who was actually controlling the aircraft during this period?
It’s known that the pilot was injured and the co-pilot was restrained by passengers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the heroic actions of a passenger named Yaniv Hayoun, a plumber by trade, who claimed he was able to help control the aircraft thanks to regularly watching the television series Air Crash Investigation.
Experts have expressed skepticism about this account. A passenger without formal flight training would not possess the knowledge needed to control an aircraft during an emergency situation. Some reports indicate an off-duty FlyDubai pilot aboard the flight ultimately took over control from the passenger.
Why Was the Tail Damaged?
FlyDubai FZ1073 eventually landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Aviation outlet The Aviationist highlighted damage to the aircraft’s rudder, the vertical fin component at the tail. Damage to this part can impair an aircraft’s ability to turn.
The Aviationist noted that turning capability wasn’t entirely lost, since the ailerons on both wings remained functional. However, the aircraft would have become considerably more difficult to control when turning.
Aviation experts have questioned how the tail sustained this kind of damage in the first place. One possible explanation points to the extreme descent, though this can only be confirmed through an official investigation.
Why Did the Plane Speed Up While Descending?
The aircraft’s speed has also raised questions among experts on aviation forums like Jetcareers. Flight data shows that as the plane was diving, its speed increased from 411 knots to 600 knots. Whether an aircraft can safely fly that fast during a steep descent turns out to be a more complicated question than it might seem.
Experts say a full review of flight parameter recordings would be needed to determine whether such a rapid descent combined with increasing speed falls within normal operational limits or represents something anomalous.
How Did the Aircraft Survive?
This is the question most aviation experts and aircraft engineers keep returning to: how did the plane survive at all? The tail damage has become a major talking point among aviation enthusiasts. On the Reddit forum r/aviation, users have questioned how a Boeing 737 MAX 8 remained controllable during such a rough descent, and how it managed to land successfully under these conditions.
Modern aircraft are generally equipped with multiple layers of control systems designed to maintain safety even if one component fails. The preliminary conclusion is that the damage sustained, while serious, remained within limits that still allowed the aircraft to land.
What Happens Next
Following these six major questions, the aviation community is hoping investigators will release more complete flight data, including flight control positions, stabilizer and rudder issues, airspeed, descent angle, the roles played by each crew member, and engine conditions. There are also hopes that cockpit voice recordings will eventually be made public to help clarify exactly what happened aboard FZ1073.
Given how many of these questions remain unresolved and how significantly the official narrative conflicts with technical flight data, it’s worth treating current accounts, both the official Israeli government statement and preliminary expert speculation, as provisional until a formal investigation produces verified findings. Incidents involving flight safety on this scale are typically examined in detail by international aviation authorities before a definitive account is established.
