A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after the co-pilot allegedly repeatedly stabbed the captain in what Israeli authorities are now according to Israeli journalist Amit Segal treating as a terrorist attack.

Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children, landed safely at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia after transmitting emergency signals that raised fears of a possible hijacking.

Following situational assessments and testimony from passengers, Israel is treating the incident as a “full-fledged terrorist attack,” Segal reported.

The co-pilot apparently stabbed the captain several times before crew members and passengers managed to enter the cockpit door and overpower him, according to Segal.

“An extremely serious disaster was averted,” Segal quoted a senior Israeli official as saying.

The co-pilot was being questioned, as indications mounted that he intended to take control of the aircraft and crash it with the passengers on board, according to the official.

‘Great stroke of luck’

Israeli authorities were informed that an additional team of pilots was aboard the aircraft as part of a routine crew arrangement, N12 reported. The pilots were traveling as passengers and were able to take control and stabilize the aircraft after the alleged attacker was subdued.

“The great stroke of luck on this flight was the pilots,” N12 quoted a senior Israeli official as saying. “Otherwise, we would have been facing an incident straight out of September 2001 or July 1976.”

The official was referring to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist hijackings in the United States and the July 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight that was diverted to Entebbe, Uganda.

‘We just jumped and got him’

One of the passengers who helped subdue the assailant is Zvika Mans, CEO of Bank Leumi’s underwriting company Barak Leumi (an investment-banking operation).

“It was an incredibly traumatic event,” Mans told financial outlet Calcalist.

“My wife was standing near the cockpit because my daughter was in the bathroom. Suddenly, she heard shouting coming from the cockpit. She shouted to a replacement pilot from Fiji who was sitting there: ‘Get in quickly, see what’s happening,’” he continued.

“He called for help, and two others and I entered the cockpit and subdued the attacker. I’m covered in blood. It was insane,” the CEO recounted.

He further said that the reserve pilot who landed the airplane was from Fiji, the stabbed pilot was from India, and the attacker was from Oman.

Another passenger who was apparently on board gave an account of the event in a video circling on social media.

“We gained control over the flight,” the man said in Hebrew.

“There was a terrorist here with a knife who stabbed one of the pilots. We just jumped and got him [the attacker]out of the cockpit. A few guys. Now everything is okay… The terrorist is neutralized. There is a pilot who is seriously wounded. And apparently another pilot inside who is slightly injured but is landing the plane…” he added.

The new information followed earlier assessments that the incident was an altercation between the two pilots. An Israeli official initially told Reuters that the emergency signals were transmitted after the pilots became involved in a physical altercation.

The Prime Minister’s Office also said earlier that the incident was determined not to have been a hijacking.

The aircraft was flying over Jordanian airspace when it first transmitted the 7700 transponder code, indicating a general emergency, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24. Several minutes later, it transmitted 7500, the international code indicating possible unlawful interference.

The plane subsequently transmitted the general emergency code again before landing in Tabuk.

The signals triggered an immediate security response in Israel, with Israeli Air Force fighter jets scrambled amid fears that an aircraft carrying Israeli passengers had been hijacked.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations on the incident, while IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir conducted a situational assessment with the commander of the Israeli Air Force and other senior military officials.

“Following concerns over an aviation incident, Prime Minister Netanyahu held consultations on the matter and is monitoring developments,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. “The incident is under control and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel.”

Video from aboard the aircraft showed passengers singing “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The people of Israel live”) moments after the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

The Transportation Ministry said that “Ben-Gurion Airport is operating as usual,” while the Israel Airports Authority said that “Israel’s airspace is open.” Earlier reports said departures from Israel had been temporarily halted as a precaution during the initial hijacking scare.

Flydubai operates daily flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv. Israel and the United Arab Emirates established diplomatic relations in 2020 under the Abraham Accords. Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have diplomatic relations.