Yasmin Abu Kasis, whose ⁠daughter Miriam was on the flight, said that her daughter had told her that she had heard screaming and that a man took a knife, put the pilot on the floor, and that there was blood everywhere. Pictures shared on social media showed passengers with clothes covered in blood.

An Israeli official said a “major disaster was narrowly avoided”, according to the outlet, which reported that the Israeli security agencies including the IDF, Mossad and Shin Bet believe the incident may have been intended as an act of terror.

A pilot on a flight from Dubai to Israel allegedly stabbed his co-pilot in an attempted hijacking in midair, according to reports.

Israeli fighter jets were scrambled after Flydubai Flight FZ1073 dramatically dropped around 13,000 feet in 30 seconds as it veered off course on Wednesday morning, FlightRadar data shows.

A witness told the Jerusalem Post that one pilot stabbed the other before passengers near the front of the plane forced the attacker out of the cockpit.

Two other pilots who were onboard at the back of the plane helped land the flight.