Two Israeli Officials: What Happened on the "Fly Dubai" Flight May Have Been a Terrorist Attack Attempt.. And This is What a Passenger Said

- Two Israeli officials and an informed source stated that Israeli authorities suspect that what happened on board the "Fly Dubai" flight heading to Tel Aviv may have been an attempted terrorist attack. One of the officials said that the information gathered by Israeli authorities indicates that the co-pilot attempted to stab the pilot, and that an Israeli passenger helped to subdue the co-pilot.

The source added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his schedule to hold consultations with senior security officials in Israel regarding the incident. A passenger who was on the flight told the Israeli i24 channel that one of the pilots was stabbed, and that she went through moments when she thought she would die.

The passenger -who was identified only as "Miriam"- told the channel: "We heard screams, then the cockpit door opened and we saw a huge amount of blood," noting that one of the pilots was injured and receiving first aid, but the identity of the person who stabbed him was unclear. She mentioned that the plane was "completely out of control...

There were moments when we were all certain that we would not come out alive." Flight tracking data, which Afaq News reviewed, shows that the plane descended by 17,400 feet -from an altitude of 34,000 feet to about 16,600 feet- over northwestern Saudi Arabia in just over two minutes, then the plane sent a distress signal before landing in Saudi Arabia.

A spokesperson for "Fly Dubai" stated that flight number FZ 1073 "experienced an incident during the flight" and landed at Tabaq Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, confirming that all passengers are fine and safe.