
Plane carrying around 150 people landed in Saudi Arabia following altercation between pilot and co-pilot
A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying 150 people was diverted to Saudi Arabia after a physical fight broke out between the pilot and co-pilot, triggering emergency and hijacking squawk codes.
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A Flydubai flight en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv squawked an emergency and a hijacking code before landing in Saudi Arabia.
A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was unexpectedly diverted after a physical fight between the pilots, Israeli officials told local media.
The Flydubai plane - which took off from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates early on Wednesday morning - signalled an emergency code two hours into the journey, flight tracking website Flightradar24 said.
Minutes later it switched to a code used to report a hijacking, but was later turned back to the general emergency signal, the website reported.
The incident was not believed to have been a hijacking, the Israeli prime minister's office said.
Instead, the signal was thought to be issued following an altercation between the pilot and co-pilot, local media reported citing Israeli defence officials.
The plane - carrying around 150 people, most of whom are Israeli - was due to land at Ben-Gurion Airport but instead landed at at Tabuk Airport in northeastern Saudi Arabia.
The Israeli air force dispatched fighter jets in response to the incident and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held urgent consultations on the incident.

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