Aviation Analyst, Consultant, Advisor. Broadcasting #Aviation News @LBC @SkyNews @BBC @AlJazeera @ITV ✈️ Columnist Gulf-Times 🎧 Host of ‘On-Air’ Podcast 🎙️
Usually at 38,000ft / London
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Alex Macheras retweeted
Exclusive: The FlyDubai copilot who stabbed his captain had been banned from flying by Oman over concerns he held radical ideological views on.wsj.com/4zay28E
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What happens when a flight crew declare either ‘7700’ (emergency) or ‘7500’ (unlawful interference/hijacking) from a commercial airline jet? 👇🏽
قناة الجزيرة
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Images of flight #FZ1073, a 737 Max, at Tabuk airport show part of the aircraft’s rudder appears to have been torn off - potentially consistent with the data which recorded an extreme descent rate of approximately -30,000 ft/min.
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Breaking: FlyDubai confirms “an altercation occurred in the flight deck” and that the “aircraft was successfully secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk” — an extraordinary scenario
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Severe damage to the aircraft involved in the FlyDubai incident, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, following the ‘forced’ descent (from 30,000ft to around 15,000ft in just approx 30 secs) during the time of an incident in the flight deck (involving pilots, and reportedly some passengers)
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Quite striking damage to rudder, & parts of the outer skin
In a steep, high-speed descent, aerodynamic forces build extremely quickly…loads increase roughly with the square of airspeed (as speed rises, the forces acting on the tail & control surfaces can become enormous)
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It’s incredibly unclear (currently) what exactly happened onboard this Dubai-Tel-Aviv flight, and given the geopolitical environment, treat fast assumptions with caution.
We know the aircraft did descend more than 14,000 ft in under 30 seconds (terrifying for pax), but unclear if a ‘struggle’ in cockpit took place between pilots only, or if cockpit door was opened mid-flight for pax involvement, etc?
Israel-bound flight diverted after fight between pilots bbc.in/4z6SCqA
Community note
The copilot stabbed the pilot in an attempt to hijack the plane until passengers stormed the cockpit and subdued him.
The plane plummeted over 17000 feet during the attack and other pilots who were passengers on the plane took control and landed it.
cnn.com/2026/09/30/wor…
jpost.com/international/…
msn.com/en-us/news/oth…
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A clearer timeline on Flydubai #FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, following the onboard security incident
New details per @flightradar24
Timeline (UTC):
03:05 — Departs Dubai
05:21 — Altitude fluctuations begin
05:22 — Aircraft drops more than 14,000 ft in under 30 seconds(!)
05:31 — Squawk 7700 (gen emergency)
05:38 — Squawk changes to 7500 (unlawful interference)
06:45 — Lands at Tabuk
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Alex Macheras retweeted
#FZ1073 squawked 7700 (general emergency), but changed to 7500 (unlawful interference) a short time later. The aircraft then switched back to 7700. We have NO CONFIRMATION of the nature of the situation on board at this time. On approach to Tabuk now. fr24.com/FDB1073/41e663ed
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London has already slipped from #1 to #2 globally for premium air-passenger arrivals, overtaken by New York, while Beijing and Shanghai have surged into the top five.
If UK were serious re growth, it would be expanding its ability to compete, not *endlessly* questioning it
“Principally, it’s a matter for London”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham refuses to commit to building a third runway at Heathrow airport and says “you’ve got to hear the voice of people [in London] first”
#BBCLauraK
bbc.co.uk/news/live/cj4zwkp2…
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It’s extraordinary that the UK govt once again appears unsure of the link between international air connectivity and economic growth. Britain cannot credibly talk about growth and global competitiveness while treating aviation capacity as something it can simply do without…
Andy Burnham is facing an immediate backlash over his hint this morning that he could cancel the Heathrow third runway
Unite’s Sharon Graham says: “A third runway at Heathrow is essential and we need to get going with it”
GMB’s Gary Smith says: “We need to put an end to decades of talk and lost benefits for working people across the country and get cracking”
John Armitt, former chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, says: “Cancelling or delaying Heathrow expansion would not release a penny for the north; it would simply send tens of billions of private capital, and the jobs that come with it, somewhere else in the world”
Parmjit Dhanda, former Labour MP and executive director of Back Heathrow: “It is now a test of whether Britain is serious about economic growth. It’s time to get it done, and open the doors to nearly £50 billion of inward private sector investment”
Labour MP Siobhan McDonagh says: “The debate over Heathrow expansion has been going on for far too long; the time has come to simply get on and build the third runway”
Heathrow itself says: “Critically, expanding Heathrow is a national project which will create jobs and boost growth in every part of the country”
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I’m at the Skift Global Travel Forum in NYC where we’ve been hearing from airline, tech, hospitality CEOs…and now suddenly a surprise keynote from Prince Harry 👀 @skift
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Alex Macheras retweeted
Oman and Azerbaijan stopped Iranian airlines from operating flights to their countries, while Iraq has banned flights to its capital. Mahan Air, one of Iran's largest carriers, also suspended flights to and from Istanbul, Ankara and Muscat. ft.trib.al/OrBnliL
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Pleased to join Bloomberg QEF in New York City during #UNGA week - as geopolitics adds close to $100 billion to the aviation sector’s fuel bill this year, airlines are continuing to navigate an an evolving + incredibly complex operating environment…
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“Fuel is definitely something we're all closely monitoring. Jet fuel is about $182 today. About 90% increase from Feb 28th,” says @qatarairways CEO Hamad Ali Al-Khater. But he says “We're not passing that cost to our customers at this stage in time.”
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Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said Gulf states must work together to restore stability in the region and help find a settlement between the US and Iran. “We are hoping this war is a wake-up call for everyone,” he said. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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Italy’s Catania Airport has suspended arrivals until 4 p.m. local time on Monday due to volcanic activity from nearby Mount Etna bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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Once again, yet another technical failure at the UK’s Air Traffic Control Service provider (NATS) means significant flight disruption ahead for both departures and arrivals as UK forced to reduce & regulate air traffic in airspace.
Flights are still departing and airspace is open, but recovery will take some time. We will provide further updates as soon as possible. (2/3)
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