A commercial plane travelling from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Israel has been forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, after an apparent brawl between its pilots prompted distress signals that briefly raised fears of an attempted hijacking. The flydubai flight was over Jordan when it diverted to Saudi Arabia, transmitting three emergency signals, one of which indicated a possible unlawful interference. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Plane descended about 16,000ft in two minutes
The plane dipped dramatically during the reported fight, descending about 16,000ft in just two minutes. Israeli officials scrambled fighter jets, fearful of a possible hijacking attempt on a plane containing dozens of Israelis, and the plane landed at Tabuk airport in north-western Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu: pilot stabbed his fellow pilot and intended to crash the plane
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one of the flydubai pilots stabbed his fellow pilot and intended to crash the plane. He added that one of the passengers on the flight managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members, and together they "neutralised" the attacking pilot.
Netanyahu described it as "an extremely severe security incident". Other officials, including defence minister Israel Katz, have called it an attempted terrorist attack. Netanyahu thanked the passengers and crew who helped to stop the attack, saying they "showed exceptional resourcefulness and courage".
Attacker identified as an Omani national
An Israeli official has identified the attacker as an Omani national, Reuters is reporting. The co-pilot of a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv is believed to have stabbed the captain in a possible attempted "terror attack".
Between 160 and 180 passengers on board
The Boeing 737 plane, which Israeli officials said had between 160 and 180 passengers on board, transmitted a general emergency signal about two and a half hours after departing from Dubai, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
Passenger: plane was "pretty much out of control"
Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon said the plane was "pretty much out of control" when the alleged stabbing took place over Jordan on the flight's path from Dubai to Tel Aviv. "The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane," she told reporters by speakerphone held up by her mother who was waiting at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
The plane again transmitted the initial general emergency signal before later landing at Saudi Arabia's Tabuk airport. Tabuk airport said the plane landed at 9.45am local time and that both pilots were taken to hospital after sustaining injuries.
Second flight landed safely
A second flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv landed safely at its destination after the tracking data website Flightradar24 initially showed the plane diverting back towards the UAE. Flight FZ1081 was later shown to be on its way to Israel, where it landed in Tel Aviv this afternoon.