Second team of pilots in civilian clothes stepped in to save flydubai plane, helped land safely in Saudi: Report

A second team of pilots dressed in civilian clothes took control of a flydubai flight and landed it safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia after an altercation between the aircraft's two pilots, according to an Israeli media report.

Passengers queue at the flydubai counters in Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. (AFP)The flight was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when the incident unfolded. Citing Channel 12, The Times of Israel reported that two passengers also intervened to prevent one of the pilots from taking control of the aircraft.

Initially thought to be a potential hijacking, it later turned out that the signal that sparked fear among the authorities was itself triggered by a brawl between the two pilots in the cockpit. It reportedly led to the aircraft descending from 34,000 feet to around 16,600 feet over northwestern Saudi Arabia in just over two minutes.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's security minister, said that “terrorist” wanted to crash Flydubai's FZ1073 plane to kill Israelis, according to AFP.

Earlier, two Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters, said Israel's current assessment was that the incident was an attempted “terror attack” and was not related to any mental health issue involving either of the pilots.

The aircraft was carrying around 180 passengers when it turned around while flying over Saudi Arabia. It was subsequently tracked near Tabuk airport before landing there.

The Israeli military said IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir held an assessment of the incident with senior officers.

Those present included Israeli Air Force chief Maj Gen Omer Tischler, Operations Directorate chief Maj Gen Itzik Cohen and Intelligence Directorate chief Maj Gen Shlomi Binder, according to The Times of Israel.

The incident came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that there were indications that Israel's enemies could attempt attacks ahead of the elections. He warned against any such action and said the country's "long arm" would reach them anywhere and at any time.

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