A flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 sustained significant damage to its tail section following an incident while operating a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which resulted in the aircraft diverting to Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.
Images taken after the incident and shared on social media show that a significant portion of the rudder on the vertical stabilizer of the A6-FKF-registered aircraft was damaged. The damage is believed to potentially be linked to the extremely rapid descent and the aerodynamic loads the aircraft was subjected to during the event.
According to flight data, flight FZ1073 lost approximately 14,000 feet of altitude in around 30 seconds. The aircraft was subsequently brought under control and landed safely at Tabuk Airport.
Flydubai stated that all passengers were safe and that it was continuing to work with the relevant authorities.
