CALGARY — According to the Israeli government, a flight from United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Israel was diverted to Saudi Arabia due to an attempted "hijacking" and "terror attack" by one of the pilots on the flight.As reported by the Globe and Mail, two Israeli officials said the co-pilot is believed to have stabbed the captain before cabin crew entered the cockpit and took control of the plane.Close to the time the plane landed in Saudi Arabia, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister's office told Reuters the incident was not believed to be a hijacking but a "different incident."Later, two officials speaking anonymously to two reporters stated the incident was an attempted "terror attack" and was not related to any mental health issues that either pilot could have had..In one of multiple clips filmed on the flight and circulated by Israeli media, a passenger said one of the pilots was seriously injured and the other was slightly injured, after one of the pilots was stabbed.After the plane, Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, safely landed in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk airport, the airport disclosed that the two pilots had been hospitalized after sustaining injuries.Neither the airport nor the Israeli passenger identified the attacker. The diverted flight flew over Jordanian airspace, transmitting a general emergency signal and then another emergency signal that was meant to indicate potentially unlawful interference, according to the flight-tracking website Flightradar24..The Boeing 737 plane had 150 Israeli passengers on board.The aircraft's data appeared to show it had suddenly and rapidly descended by nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before the first emergency signal.Israeli media have also published multiple conflicting reports about the incident, with some outlets reporting a pilot tried to crash the passenger plane in an alleged suicide attempt, while other outlets have identifying the pilots as Omani and Emirati nationals, while others said they were Russian and Ukrainian.The incident has led to a national security consultation in Israel..In a statement, Israeli prime minister’s office said the incident was "under control" and measures were being taken to bring the Israeli passengers back to Israel.Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier held security consultations on the incident, and cleared his schedule for the rest of the day to manage the crisis.The UAE has yet to comment on the incident, while the Dubai-owned airline has only stated the flight experienced an "incident" and diverted to Tabuk, where it landed safely and all passengers were accounted for.Yasmin Abukasis says her daughter Miriam was among the passengers on the flight. She told her mother she had heard screaming and that a man holding a knife had forced one of the pilots onto the floor and there was blood everywhere..The pilot who stabbed the other pilot on the plane was trying to crash the plane in an attempted hijacking, according to a statement by Netanyahu. According to Netanyahu, passengers and crew subdued the assailant, who has been arrested.
