NEW DELHI: In a bone-chilling incident, a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk after a failed mid-air attempt to hijack the plane and allegedly crash it in an act of terrorism, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

The co-pilot of the plane allegedly stabbed the captain in a bid to wrest control of the plane, with officials investigating whether he intended to crash the plane as part of a pre-planned terror plot.

Some of the passengers overpowered the co-pilot, while two pilots in civilian clothes took control of the cockpit and made the emergency landing.

All the passengers were safely evacuated and the injured captain was shifted to a medical facility for treatment.

What happened inside the flydubai flight?

The Tel Aviv-bound flight 1073 carrying a reported 180 passengers, including a significant number of Israelis, departed Dubai and climbed to an altitude of 34,000 feet.

However, two hours and fifteen minutes into the flight, the Boeing 737 MAX suddenly witnessed a sharp drop in altitude from 34,000 feet to around 17,000 feet in less than a minute.

It then slightly regained altitude, reaching 21,275 feet, before dropping to just under 15,000 feet.

A “squawk code” of 7700, an international emergency signal, was sent from the cockpit, followed by a 7500 code, a signal for hijacking or unlawful interference, moments later.

Sensing trouble, the Israeli Air Force scrambled its fighter jets toward the plane, triggering panic among the power corridors of Tel Aviv.

According to The Times of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held an emergency meeting and directed officials for an assessment of the situation.

Over the next one hour, the plane failed to maintain a steady altitude, though it remained around 15,000 feet, indicating it was being controlled manually rather than by the autopilot.

Graphic videos from the plane show the horror

Several videos from the plane shot by passengers captured the chaos inside as the flight witnessed a sudden drop in altitude. One of the videos, shot moments after the cockpit attack, showed the captain covered in blood on the floor of the aircraft just outside the cockpit. A second crewmember, the accused co-pilot, was seen tied up beside him.

One of the passengers is heard saying, “We were attacked and are guarding the pilot.” Another added: “They tried to murder the pilot. We subdued [the attacker].”

Someone pointed to the bound man and said: “This is the man who… stabbed him [the captain].”

In another video, a person is heard saying, “We’re here during the hijacking of an airplane. At this point we’ve subdued the terrorists, we’re approaching the landing. Whoever is hearing me, we need help.”

“We’re landing in Tabuk, apparently in Saudi Arabia.An unknown, unfamiliar area. On the plane, everybody is safe and sound, other than the pilot. We need help.”

Israeli authorities are in contact with their Saudi counterparts and arrangements were reportedly being discussed to bring back the stranded passengers.