JERUSALEM — A Flydubai passenger jet bound for Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a violent struggle in the cockpit in which one pilot stabbed the other and appeared to try to crash the plane, Israeli officials said, sending the aircraft into a steep descent and prompting Israel to scramble fighter jets.

Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 Max 8 carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children, landed safely at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk, in northwestern Saudi Arabia. All passengers were reported safe. Both the captain and the first officer were injured and taken to hospital, according to Tabuk airport.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one of the pilots stabbed the other and appears to have tried to crash the plane. Israeli security agencies are investigating the incident as a suspected act of terrorism, according to Israeli media reports.

Emergency codes and a sudden plunge

The flight departed Dubai on Wednesday morning and was scheduled to land at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv at about 9:30 a.m.

About 90 minutes into the flight, as it entered Jordanian airspace, the aircraft transmitted squawk code 7700, signaling a general emergency. It then transmitted code 7500, which indicates unlawful interference and is commonly associated with a hijacking, according to Israeli news site Ynet.

The jet turned back into Saudi airspace and dropped sharply. FlightAware data showed it descending from about 34,000 feet to around 15,400 feet in roughly 12 minutes.

Meidan Barr, a former chairman of the........

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