What happened on board the rerouted flydubai plane?
A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a pilot allegedly attempted to crash the plane. Passengers and crew intervened to overpower the pilot, and the incident is currently under investigation by Saudi authorities.
Why it matters
This rare and dangerous mid-air security incident highlights critical vulnerabilities in cockpit safety and international aviation security protocols.
A plane heading to Tel Aviv from Dubai was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after one of the pilots allegedly tried to crash the plane and kill everyone onboard .
Flight FZ 1703 took off from Dubai at 3.05am Irish time this morning.
Here's what we know about what unfolded on board:
The aircraft suddenly plummeted a little over two hours into the flight.
The plane dropped from nearly 34,000 feet at 5.21am to less than 17,000 feet at 5.22am, according to data from the Flightradar24 website.
The plane transmitted a general emergency signal at 5.31am, followed by a code to report a hijacking at 5.38am, according to Israeli media reports.
Israel's public broadcaster Kan and Channel 12 reported that the Israeli military scrambled fighter jets after initial fears of a hijacking.
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