'Israel's 9/11': 4 things to know about the FlyDubai attack
1. The flight was headed to Tel Aviv from Dubai
The incident occurred aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073, which was traveling Wednesday from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates to Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel. Many of the roughly 180 passengers were Israeli.
Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24.com shows that nearly three hours after takeoff, the plane began to descend rapidly over Saudi Arabia, dropping more than 17,000 feet in less than two minutes.
The plane sent out two squawk codes, the four-digit signals pilots use to alert air traffic control. It first sent 7700, a “general emergency” code, then 7500, which reports “unlawful interference” or a hijacking. The signal switched back to 7700 after the plane began a manual descent. It landed at the airport in Tabuk, in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
