Reports: Israeli officials increasingly believe FlyDubai emergency was attempted terror attack

There is a growing assessment in Israel that the emergency on board the FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was an attempted terror attack, though it still can’t say so definitively, Channel 12 and Ynet reported. 

The flight landed safely in Saudi Arabia after a violent altercation in the cockpit.

Unconfirmed reports in Hebrew media say the copilot, an Omani, is being investigated on the ground by Saudi authorities, after allegedly stabbing the captain, an Emirati, and attempting to crash the plane, according to The Times of Israel.

At the same time, other options are being looked into, including a mental health episode that was not nationalistic in nature.

There has not yet been an official statement on the circumstances of the incident by Israeli, Saudi or Emirati authorities.

Flight FDB1073, with a reported 180 passengers — including dozens of Israelis — sent a “squawk code” of 7700, a general international emergency signal, as it made a U-turn over the Jordan-Saudi Arabia border, according to The Times of Israel.

The Boeing 737 MAX, as it flew over Saudi Arabia, briefly issued a code 7500, meaning a hijacking or unlawful interference.

The plane failed to maintain a steady altitude, though it remained at around 15,000 feet, indicating it was being controlled by hand rather than autopilot.

Israeli authorities were unable to make contact with the plane during the incident.

Times of Israel reported that the plane landed safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.