A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was unexpectedly diverted to Saudi Arabia after one pilot stabbed the other and “apparently tried to crash the plane”, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

The Flydubai plane – which took off from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates early on Wednesday morning – signalled an emergency alert two hours into the flight.

Tracking data also showed a sudden drop in the plane’s altitude.

Flight FZ1073 was forced to change course from its route to Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel and instead landed at Tabuk Airport in northeastern Saudi Arabia.

On arrival, accounts from passengers to local media detailed a stabbing in the cockpit of the plane.

In an address after the incident, Netanyahu confirmed the stabbing and said a passenger and crew member broke into the cockpit and overpowered “the pilot who had carried out the stabbing”.

The pilot was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities, the prime minister said.

The plane’s captain and first officer were injured and taken to hospital, the company that owns Tabuk Airport said. It did not say what caused the injuries.

Flydubai said “an altercation occurred in the flight deck” and all passengers are safe and accounted for. The flight was carrying at least 150 people, with Netanyahu saying “almost all” passengers were Israeli.

Here’s what we know.

Flydubai’s flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai International Airport in the UAE at 03:05 GMT (07:05 local time) on Wednesday.

Data from flight tracking website Flightrader24 shows a rapid descent for the plane over Saudi Arabia around two and a half hours after take-off, dropping more than 17,000 feet (over 5,000m) in less than two minutes at around 05:21.

Minutes later, the plane signalled an emergency code – squawk 7700 – before switching it to a squawk 7500 code reporting a hijacking.

At 05:40, the plane – which had briefly entered Jordanian airspace – looped back into Saudi Arabia, where it later started its manual descent for landing.

Less than an hour later, the plane returned to squawk 7700.

Initial local media reports cited Israeli officials as saying a fight had broken out between two pilots.

But, speaking on Wednesday following the incident, Netanyahu confirmed later reports that one pilot had stabbed the other before “apparently trying to crash” the plane.

He added that an Israeli passenger told him “the plane went into a spin and began to descend” before the passenger and a crew member broke into the cockpit and overpowered the “pilot who had carried out the stabbing”.

The plane touched down at Tabuk Airport in northeastern Saudi Arabia, according to location data at 06:58.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz called it an “attempted jihadist terror attack”. The BBC is yet to receive official statements from police, emergency services, or investigators regarding the motive of the attack.

Passengers on board the flight have been talking to various media outlets. BBC News has not been able to verify their accounts.

Yasmin Abukasis told Reuters that her daughter – who was on the flight – said a man holding a knife had forced one of the pilots onto the floor, and that there was blood everywhere.

Speaking from Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, she said her daughter phoned her to say she heard screaming on the plane as a pilot called for help, adding that two other pilots took control of the plane as other passengers ran towards a man who had a knife.

“The plane start to lose control. So all the people, they scream, they think they are going,” Abukasis told AP news agency.

One female passenger described the “very stressful” moment people realised the plane was descending. “We understood the pilots lost control,” she told Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom.

“There are people here with shirts covered in blood,” she said, adding: “Now we are fine and want to return home.”

Another unnamed passenger told the Jerusalem Post that while passengers near the front of the plane forced the attacker from the cockpit after the stabbing of the co-pilot, two pilots from the back of the plane helped land the aircraft.

Almog Itali, who was also on board the flight, told media one of the pilots who landed the aircraft was British.

The other pilot was European, Itali said, although he did not provide a specific nationality.

Shortly after the incident, the Israeli and Saudi Arabian air forces dispatched fighter jets, while Netanyahu held urgent consultations.

Speaking later on Wednesday, Netanyahu called the situation a “a very serious security incident”.

He added Israeli security forces are “maintaining close contact with the relevant authorities to ensure the continued safety of the passengers” and make sure they are returned to Israel safely.

“I salute these heroes who demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness and courage,” he added.

“They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster.”

Flydubai meanwhile said the flight was “successfully secured by on-duty Flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk airport”.

The airline has confirmed two replacement aircraft have been sent to Tabuk airport to relieve the passengers and crew and that the incident has had no impact on other scheduled operations.

The spokesperson added: “Our immediate priority is to ensure the ongoing safety, health, and wellbeing of all passengers and crew members involved in this incident and support the official investigation.”