Israel-bound flight makes emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after 'pilot altercation'
An Israel-bound flight made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after sending a hijacking alert.
Israeli officials later ruled out a hijacking, saying the alert was triggered by an altercation between the pilots.
Initial indications suggested one of them may have attempted to crash the plane, according to Israeli media.
A senior Israeli official told Channel 12 that a “severe disaster was prevented”.
The Flydubai flight was travelling from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport with 180 Israeli passengers on board.
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It began a steep descent about an hour before its scheduled arrival, dropping from 34,000 feet to 16,000 feet in less than two minutes.
The plane eventually landed safely in Tabuk, in north-western Saudi Arabia.
Passengers described scenes of chaos as the plane began its steep descent.
Some told Israeli media that passengers broke into the cockpit and intervened to stop the descent.
Other reports said one of the pilots may have attempted to crash the plane.
The Israeli official told Channel 12 that, without intervention, the incident could have ended in another 11 September 2001.
The initial distress call prompted Israeli leaders to hold emergency security meetings and dispatch fighter jets to respond to the possible hijacking.
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