Two pilots - one from Russia and the other from Ukraine - were among the crew members of a FlyDubai flight that made an emergency landing following reports of a hijacking.
According to Report, citing Channel 12, FlyDubai, in turn, said it was surprised by the behavior of the pilots, who got into a fight in the cockpit.
According to the information, one of the pilots is of Russian origin, while the other is Ukrainian.
The aircraft made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.
11:00
A Flydubai flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which earlier issued a hijacking alert, has landed in Saudi Arabia, according to Report.
10:59
A Flydubai flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv transmitted a signal indicating a possible hijacking, according to Ynet.
According to Ynet, cited by Report, there were 174 passengers on board, including 27 children.
The alert was issued after the aircraft entered Jordanian airspace. The plane initially transmitted code 7700, the international emergency squawk, before switching to code 7500, which indicates a possible hijacking.
The aircraft then turned back toward Saudi Arabian airspace and descended to a lower altitude. Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled.
The flight departed Dubai at 7:05 a.m. and was scheduled to land at Ben Gurion Airport at around 9:30 a.m. After approximately 90 minutes in the air, the aircraft began turning back over Saudi Arabia and continued flying at a lower altitude.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister also convened an emergency security meeting, according to the report.
However, a security official stressed that there was "no reliable information indicating that the aircraft had been hijacked" and said that the pilot had activated the emergency signal.
