Emergency declared over Saudi airspace
A Flydubai aircraft flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv was forced to divert to Saudi Arabia after an incident between two pilots in which one was reportedly stabbed. The plane had left Dubai International Airport on Wednesday morning, and roughly two hours into the trip an emergency code was triggered, according to the tracking site Flightradar24.[S1]
The alert was raised minutes later to a hijacking signal before being downgraded again to a general emergency code. Passengers used their phone cameras to record the tense moments on board, including several occasions when the aircraft lost altitude.[S1]
Israeli leader's account of the attack
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that one pilot stabbed the other and apparently tried to bring the plane down. The flight was ultimately diverted to Saudi Arabia rather than continuing to its original destination.[S1]
