Flight to Tel Aviv diverted to Saudi Arabia after pilot 'stabbed the other': Netanyahu
A FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia Wednesday morning after one of the pilots allegedly stabbed the other and tried to bring down the plane, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli officials said.
The flight landed in Tabuk, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, after being diverted.
The prime minister discussed more details about the security incident later in the day, saying in a video statement that "Almost all the passengers on board were Israelis."
"One of the pilots stabbed the other and apparently attempted to crash the plane with everyone on it," Netanyahu added. "I spoke with one of the Israeli passengers. He told me that the plane went into a spin and began to dive."
"He managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members, and together they subdued the pilot who had committed the stabbing while he was attempting to sabotage the aircraft's systems," the prime minister continued. "Another flight crew member on board entered the cockpit and managed to stabilize the plane."
"I salute the heroes on the flight from Dubai who demonstrated resourcefulness and courage. I have instructed the security establishment to prepare for potential additional threats," Netanyahu said in the statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also praised the passengers who stepped up and noted in his statement that investigation is still ongoing.
"According to our preliminary information, the terrorist had a single objective: to crash the plane, killing everyone on board," he said.
A repatriation flight was en-route, according to the Israel Aviation Agency.
The flight took off at 7:05 a.m. local time from Dubai, according to Flightradar24.
Tracking data showed the aircraft descended rapidly from 34,000 to 16,000 feet in three minutes.
About 10 minutes after the initial descent, the plane's squawk code -- used by aircraft to communicate with air traffic control -- changed to "general emergency." Seven minutes after that, the squawk code changed again, indicating a hijacking or "unlawful interference."
The aircraft then continued to fly lower at 15,000 feet on average until it landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, about an hour to an hour and a half after the rapid descent began and the emergency signals were sent.
FlyDubai confirmed that the flight "experienced an incident while en route," and landed in Tabuk.
One passenger expressed gratitude to that the incident was resolved.
"We jumped and helped the pilot. Friends, everything is OK now, as you can see we are landing in Saudi Arabia, you can see I am fine. That’s it. We will see in a few minutes what will happen when we land," Itzhak Liber, a passenger, said in a video he posted on Facebook.
An Israeli security source confirmed to ABC News that the Israel Defense Forces recommended that a military aircraft be sent to repatriate Israeli passengers from Saudi Arabia.
However, the Saudi government refused to allow an IDF rescue flight to bring back the Israeli passengers, two Israeli sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
ABC News' Victoria Beaule, David Brennan and Gaby Vinick contributed to this report.
