Early Wednesday a Dubai-origin flight bound for Ben Gurion airport turned back
and landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after pilots entered an emergency code
indicating a hijack. About 100 Israeli passengers were aboard. Israeli security
services said they have ruled out a security incident and that the emergency
signal was triggered by a physical altercation between the two pilots. Israel's
transport ministry said Ben Gurion is operating normally and the Israel Airports
Authority confirmed Israeli airspace is open. The aircraft will depart from
Tabuk to return passengers to Ben Gurion. Two pilots were taken by Saudi
authorities for investigation; preliminary assessment reports one is
Russian/Russian-origin and the other Ukrainian/Ukrainian-origin.
