A bloody clash between two pilots of an Emirati commercial jet flying from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday caused it to plunge thousands of feet before passengers intervened and two off-duty pilots stepped in to land the plane.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in a video statement that one pilot had stabbed the other and “apparently attempted to crash the plane with its passengers on board,” nearly all of them Israelis.

The aircraft, FlyDubai Flight 1073, sent distress signals and abruptly reversed course near the Saudi-Jordanian border before making an emergency landing at a civil-military airport in Tabuk, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, around 9:45 a.m. local time.

Much about the episode, including the cause of the clash, remain unclear. Israeli authorities were investigating whether it was an attempted attack on Israelis or a suicide attempt, among other possible explanations, according to several Israeli officials, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with government protocol.

Passengers described a melee that ended when some of them stepped in. Social media videos that appeared to be from inside the plane show a wounded man and others on board covered in blood.

Netanyahu said he had spoken with an Israeli passenger who described breaking into the cockpit with a crew member and then, along with others, subduing “the attacking pilot while he was attempting to sabotage the aircraft’s systems.” The attacking pilot had been arrested and was being questioned by Saudi authorities, he said.

“I salute these heroes, who demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness and courage,” he added. “They saved many lives and prevented a disaster.”

The pilot and co-pilot were hospitalized in Saudi Arabia after sustaining injuries, according to a statement from officials at Tabuk airport. The airport had coordinated with FlyDubai to secure a replacement aircraft, it added.

Israeli officials said the plane was carrying 160 to 180 passengers. Relatives gathered at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv awaiting their return, which was expected around 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. Eastern).

Here’s what else we’re covering:

— Sudden plunge: Flightradar24, a flight tracking service, reported that the plane had sent a general emergency signal, then a signal of unlawful interference and then a general emergency signal again. It lost more than 17,000 feet of altitude in less than two minutes, according to Flightradar24.

— Passenger accounts: People on the flight described chaos on board the plane and worried that the plane was set to crash as it descended sharply.

— FlyDubai: The low-cost carrier was the first to begin commercial flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv after Israel and the UAE normalized relations under the Abraham Accords in 2020.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By: David M. Halbfinger

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