Israel suspects an attempted terrorist attack on a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv

Two Israeli officials and an informed source said that the Israeli authorities suspect that what happened on the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv may have been an attempt at a terrorist attack.

One of the officials said that information collected by the Israeli authorities indicates that the co-pilot tried to stab the pilot, and that an Israeli passenger helped control the co-pilot.

The source added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his agenda to hold consultations with senior security officials in Israel regarding the incident.

A passenger on the flight told the Israeli channel i24 that one of the pilots had been stabbed, and that she had moments when she thought she would die.

The passenger - who was identified only as "Miriam" - added to 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 not clear.

She stated that the plane was "completely out of shock... There were moments when we were all certain that we would not get out alive."

Flight tracking data reviewed by CNN shows that the plane descended 17,400 feet - from an altitude of 34,000 feet to about 16,600 feet - over northwest Saudi Arabia in just over two minutes, and then sent an emergency signal before landing in Saudi Arabia.

A Flydubai spokesman said that flight No. FZ 1073 “saw an accident during the flight” and landed at Tabuk Airport in the northwest of the Kingdom, stressing that all passengers are fine and safe.