A flight bound for Israel was unexpectedly redirected to Saudi Arabia after an incident onboard the aircraft, the plane’s operator said on Wednesday.
All passengers aboard the flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv are safe and accounted for, a spokesperson for the airline told Gulf News.
A “violent incident” between two pilots forced the aircraft to divert to Saudi Arabia, CNN reported, citing anonymous sources. An Israeli official told Reuters the plane’s pilots had transmitted emergency signals after becoming embroiled in a physical altercation.
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An unnamed Israeli official said it was not a hijacking incident.
Flight tracking data reviewed by Newsweek shows the flydubai plane was diverted to Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia. The aircraft’s trajectory dramatically changed shortly before briefly entering Jordanian airspace.
Israel’s i24 News outlet reported a passenger had observed a pilot with stab wounds after a brawl in the plane’s cockpit. Another traveler told Israel’s Channel 12 a pilot was wounded by a pocketknife. Newsweek has not verified the claims.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had held “consultations” and was “monitoring developments” around the flight diversion.
“The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Tracking platform FlightRadar24 said it recorded “extreme fluctuations in the transmitted altitude data” from the flydubai flight, before the aircraft issued a 7700 squawk alert.
A 7700 squawk code refers to a general emergency, but doesn’t specify the nature of an incident. It’s been described by aviation experts as the “mayday” of squawk codes.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Tony Phillips.