One of the pilots of an Israel-bound Flydubai flight diverted on Wednesday attacked his co-pilot and attempted to crash the plane, killing everyone on board, a passenger has said.

Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon said the plane was “pretty much out of control” when the stabbing occurred over Jordan while the aircraft was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

“The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane,” she told reporters by speakerphone, held up by her mother, who was waiting at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.

“It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralised him,” she said.

“There was also a doctor who gave first aid, and people who treated both of them. Other than the pilot, there were no injuries, but the bigger fear was really a crash, which is exactly what he was trying to do.”

Ohayon’s mother, Yasmin Abukasis, said her daughter had been travelling on the flight to attend a service for her brother, who was killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Her daughter “thought they were going to die”, Abukasis told AFP, adding that one woman “went to the (cockpit) and saw a lot of blood”.

She said two other pilots were on the plane and took charge of the aircraft, diverting it to Saudi Arabia.

The aircraft eventually landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after passengers and other crew members intervened to subdue the attacker. Reports said the injured pilots were taken to hospital, while the incident remains under investigation.