An Israeli-bound commercial flight was sent into chaos Wednesday morning when two pilots got into a violent confrontation during what officials are calling a “terror attack attempt.”
The madness unfolded at 1:20 AM Eastern Time when the Flydubai jet — flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv — had to be diverted to Saudi Arabia due to the “violent incident” occurring inside the cockpit, according to CNN, citing Israeli officials.
CNN said the plane then took a precipitous drop of 17,400 feet in nearly 2 minutes.
A Flydubai passenger told Fox News … the copilot allegedly stabbed the captain, who then fell onto the controls, causing the plane’s sharp drop.
The Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, received a distress call from the aircraft at 1:44 AM ET, requesting clearance for an emergency landing.
About an hour later, the plane touched down safely on a runway after the airport announced a state of emergency.
CNN said the captain and copilot were rushed to a hospital, where they were being treated for injuries, while passengers received treatment in the airport terminal. The outlet reports, citing two Israeli officials, that one of the pilots was from Oman … an independent Arab country that doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Authorities have not yet released an official account of what happened inside the cockpit.