A FlyDubai flight from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to Tel Aviv (Israel) was diverted to Saudi Arabia after a “violent” altercation reportedly took place between two pilots during the journey.
The aircraft reportedly dropped 17,400 feet in altitude, from 34,000 feet to around 16,600 feet, in just two minutes at around 1:20 am ET (10:50 am IST), CNN reported, citing flight-tracking data. The report added that an emergency signal was sent from the aircraft at 1:32 am ET.
The incident led Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz to convene a security consultation. The IDF also scrambled fighter jets after receiving the emergency alert, an IDF spokesperson said.
An Israeli official confirmed that the incident was not a hijacking, adding that officials understood it to be an internal personnel incident.
This is a developing story. More details are awaited.
