An Israel-bound Flydubai passenger flight makes an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after sending a hijacking alert. The aircraft is flying from Dubai toward Ben Gurion Airport with 180 Israeli passengers and lands in Tabuk, in north-western Saudi Arabia.
Israeli officials initially treat the distress signal as a possible hijacking and convene emergency security meetings. Fighter jets are dispatched as a precaution while authorities assess the situation. Multiple reports describe the emergency alert as a “general emergency” message, which can be associated with unlawful interference.
Later, Israeli officials rule out a hijacking, saying the signal is triggered by an altercation between the pilots in the cockpit. One outlet reports that the pilots reportedly fight mid-air, while another says details of the incident are not immediately clear and will become clearer after the flight lands and authorities can investigate. The differing accounts focus on how the alert is explained, but all describe a diversion to Saudi Arabia after an emergency/hijack warning and a subsequent conclusion that there was no hijacking.
