flydubai's daily nonstop service from Dubai to Tel Aviv, flight FZ 1073, normally runs about three and a half hours and generally touches down at Ben Gurion airport at close to 9am local time. Wednesday's departure was held up by 20 minutes at takeoff. It never reached its destination.
According to The Guardian, the aircraft instead fell thousands of feet within seconds before coming down in an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Images of the jet indicated that a large portion of its tail was missing.
About 150 passengers were aboard the morning service and witnessed what the Guardian described as a horrific assault in the cockpit and a daring rescue.
The Guardian reported that Netanyahu said the pilot who stabbed the co-pilot on the Israel-bound plane may have tried to crash it.
"Whoever is hearing me, we need help" — the phrase used in The Guardian's account of the flight.
