Passengers from diverted Flydubai flight arrive in Israel on replacement plane


JERUSALEM, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Passengers from a Flydubai flight that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain in the cockpit arrived on Wednesday at Ben Gurion Airport, outside Tel Aviv, aboard another Flydubai flight.

Israel's main television channels broadcast their arrival at Ben Gurion Airport live, where they were met by paramedics and social workers. Video footage from inside the plane after it landed showed passengers breaking into song and applause.

One of the passengers, a man in his 50s, sustained minor injuries to his upper body.

The original Dubai-Tel Aviv flight made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, with about 180 passengers on board, after a co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and the aircraft plunged sharply.

Saudi authorities said both pilots were hospitalized after the landing. They have not publicly confirmed the cause of the incident.

A Flydubai spokesperson said in a statement that the "reasons and motives behind this event remain subject to formal investigation."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said the suspected attacker had apparently tried to crash the aircraft, while Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an attempted "jihadist terror attack."

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