FlyDubai Plane Carrying Israelis Suffers Rudder Damage After Emergency Landing

A FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, flight FZ1073, made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, on the morning of September 30, after experiencing a serious issue with its rudder. Upon landing, significant damage was discovered on the aircraft's rudder, with a portion of the movable surface of the vertical stabilizer missing, according to the Times of Israel. The incident began as the plane approached Israel. Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the aircraft initially transmitted an emergency code 7700, followed minutes later by code 7500, which signifies unlawful interference, before reverting to code 7700. The plane then initiated a rapid descent, dropping from approximately 34,000 feet to 14,000 feet in a short period, with one moment showing an extremely high vertical descent speed of around 570 km/h. Arik Zar, former head of aviation security for the Shin Bet, suggested to Channel 12 that the damage likely resulted from the severe descent rather than an external impact. The official cause of the damage remains under investigation.