The United Arab Emirates Attorney General has ordered an investigation into the incident involving Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which diverted to Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Investigators will establish the circumstances and causes of the incident and clarify a number of issues, including whether the case was related to the activities of armed groups, whether there was a preliminary plan and external leadership.
The UAE courts have jurisdiction over the case as the plane is registered in the country and flies under its flag, the Attorney General's Office said in a statement. UAE law applies to crimes committed on board, even if the plane was in the airspace or on the territory of another country, the text states.
One of the pilots of a Flydubai flight to Israel stabbed the other and tried to crash the plane, the British newspaper "Financial Times" wrote in the headline, BTA reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the pilot of the Flydubai plane, which was carrying more than 150 passengers, attacked his colleague and "apparently tried to crash the plane".
According to the flight tracking system "Flightradar24" (Flightradar24), the Flydubai plane stabilized after a sharp descent and issued the extremely rare "unlawful interference" signal, which can be used to signal a hijacking.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes as passengers rushed into the cockpit and helped break up a fight between the pilots.
"Flydubai" said the crew "successfully controlled" the plane after "interference" and "diverted and landed it safely" in the northwestern Saudi city of Tabuk.
The reason for the pilot's actions is not yet clear. An Israeli official said the pilot was an Omani citizen and described the incident as a planned "9/11-style" attack.