From Tel Aviv to Tabuk...a map reveals the route of the Flydubai flight after changing its destination

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a pilot who was on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was arrested after he stabbed the other pilot inside the cockpit in an apparent attempt to bring down the plane. Netanyahu told the Ofek News network that the pilot who was attacked - who was identified as Captain Smit Machhar - resisted the attacker despite his injury, and "succeeded in preventing a catastrophe similar to the events of September 11."

One passenger described how he tightened his grip around the alleged assailant's neck (immobilizing him) before grabbing the plane's controls to balance it; However, it is not clear who actually landed the plane in the end. The accident caused the plane to descend sharply and suddenly to a distance of 17,400 feet in less than two minutes, according to flight tracking data.

The plane was diverted to Saudi Arabia, and the passengers returned safely to Israel. For his part, a spokesman for Flydubai stated that the company has opened an investigation into the incident.