A Flydubai flight travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia after its pilots reportedly got into a physical altercation and transmitted emergency signals during the journey, an Israeli official told an international media outlet.
Flydubai Flight FZ1073 was flying over Jordanian airspace when it first transmitted a general emergency signal, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
Several minutes later, the Boeing 737 sent another signal indicating possible hijacking before switching back to the general emergency code, the website reported.
The aircraft was then diverted towards Saudi Arabia and landed safely at Tabuk airport in the country’s northwest.
The incident was not believed to be a hijacking, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
An Israeli official, speaking anonymously, told the international media outlet that the pilots had sent the emergency signals after getting into a physical fight with each other.
Flydubai said that the flight had experienced an “incident” while travelling to Tel Aviv and diverted to Tabuk as a result.
“All passengers were safe and accounted for,” an airline spokesperson said, without providing further details about the incident.
The flight was carrying around 150 passengers, most of whom were Israeli and was originally scheduled to land at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
The Israeli air force also dispatched fighter jets after the emergency signals were received, while Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu held urgent consultations over the incident.
While the reason behind the altercation has not yet been revealed, unconfirmed reports have pointed toward nationalities of the pilot and co-pilot, and claimed that at least one passenger sustained injuries.
