Tel Aviv, Israel - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that one of the pilots of a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight had tried to crash the plane and kill its passengers, with the aircraft forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Passengers gave a similar account of the incident on board, describing a fight for control after the plane suddenly plummeted, losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website.
Flydubai said all the passengers – of whom 166 out of 174 were Israeli, according to media reports – were safe, adding that the reasons for the altercation were unknown.
AFPTV images later showed another flydubai plane carrying the passengers touch down at Tel Aviv airport, hours after their initial flight was diverted to Saudi Arabia's Tabuk.
"During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board," Netanyahu said in a video message.
"I salute these heroes," he said of the passengers, adding, "they prevented a major disaster".
Footage shared by the premier's office showed Netanyahu meeting the group at Tel Aviv airport and embracing a man in a bloodied shirt.
"Is that from him (the assailant)?" the premier asks, pointing at the stains.
"Yes – unfortunately we did not manage to kill him, but he will take a while to recover," the man replies.
The flight was rerouted to Tabuk "at 9:45 AM, and its captain and co-pilot were found to have injuries and were transported to [the] hospital", a statement from the company operating the airport said.
Passengers recall things spiraling "out of control" during attempted hijack
Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon said the plane was "pretty much out of control" as the incident unfolded over Jordan.
"So 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.
"It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralised him," she said.
The airline later said it was another "on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely".
Netanyahu said the pilot who allegedly stabbed his colleague was being interrogated by Saudi authorities.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as "an attempted jihadist terror attack", but did not identify his source for assigning a motive.