MELBOURNE, Australia, October 5, 2026—A shocking incident that began thousands of kilometers in the skies above the Arabian Peninsula has taken an unanticipated Australian turn, including the confirmation from RMIT University in Melbourne that the man now accused of attacking the Flydubai pilot has once studied at the same university.
This newly revealed information is yet another development in the investigation into Flydubai Flight FZ1073, which took off from Dubai on September 30, 2026, en route to Tel Aviv when the co-pilot is claimed to have assaulted the pilot in the cockpit and tried to take command of the airplane. RMIT confirmed on October 5 that the person studied at the university but did not complete his engineering degree.
The occurrence on board flight FZ1073 nearly resulted in an aviation disaster. The plane, with over 170 passengers and crew members, rapidly dropped 16,000 feet in 30 seconds while flying through Saudi Arabia. The pilot got injured, but he nevertheless was able to open the cockpit and let the passengers go and neutralize the hijacker. Two pilots on leave took control of the aircraft, diverting it to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.
This extraordinary sequence of events made the passengers part of the emergency operations. According to Reuters, one of the passengers helped stabilize the aircraft after the hijacker had been caught, and two off-duty pilots landed the plane. At the moment of its steepest dive, the aircraft was losing altitude at the rate of 544 feet (166 meters) per second, showing that there was practically no time to avert catastrophe.
At present, the investigation authorities are looking back.
Authorities in Australia are conducting a probe into the suspect’s links to Australia. The investigation is being carried out by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team of Victoria, consisting of the Australian Federal Police, the Victoria Police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. As per the Reuters reports, the sources have confirmed that the culprit studied at one of the universities in Melbourne, and RMIT has confirmed the enrollment of the suspect.
Meanwhile, the emerging scenario in Israel seems to be getting more complex than ever. Investigators in Israel suspect that the assailant must have acted alone, according to the report presented by CBS news on October 4, 2026. At the same time, the investigators have made it clear that they do keep all options open.
Thus, the investigation was moved from the incident in cockpits to a much larger issue of recruiting pilots, sharing information across agencies, border crossing, and vetting.
This question is particularly disturbing considering the fact that the flight to Israel was piloted by an Omani national, and Israel has no diplomatic relations with Oman. The Israeli authorities are currently reviewing the situation regarding the co-pilot’s ability to operate the flight, and Australia is investigating the years he spent there.
The Flydubai incident’s most surreal aspect may not be the first 30 seconds of free-fall on September 30 but what the investigation may reveal about the years before the aircraft left Dubai.
Because the question is no longer just How did the airplane survive?
It is why the warning signals, if any, did not help avoid the situation.
