Israel-bound flight drops 17,000 feet after pilot reportedly stabbed by co-pilot, in what Israeli sources suspect was a hijacking attempt, per CNN

A Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight turned into a mid-air battle on Wednesday.

About two and a half hours into Flydubai Flight 1073, the co-pilot — reported by CNN to be an Omani national — allegedly stabbed the pilot and tried to seize control of the Boeing 737 MAX 8. The jet, carrying 174 passengers including 27 children, plunged roughly 17,000 feet in under two minutes.

Hijacking protocols

The crew squawked 7700, then 7500 — the transponder code for hijacking. Passengers and crew stormed the cockpit and subdued the attacker.

Two off-duty pilots who happened to be aboard took the controls and landed the plane at Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Two crew members were hospitalized; no passengers were injured.

The fallout

Israeli sources suspect an attempted hijacking, and Prime Minister Netanyahu said the attacker "apparently attempted to crash the plane with everyone on board." Israel scrambled fighter jets and convened an emergency defense meeting.

The attacker is in Saudi custody as Israeli and Saudi authorities investigate — a rare point of security contact between the two countries.

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What this means for the options market

Aviation-security incidents put instant pressure on airline sentiment and on Boeing, which built the 737 MAX 8 involved. Geopolitical shocks involving Israel, Saudi Arabia, and air travel also feed straight into the defense and energy trades.

Watch: BA for headline risk, the US airline complex for sentiment, and any defense flow if the investigation escalates regional tensions.

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