One pilot 'stabbed', lay bloodied: What we know on Flydubai hijack scare

Suicide bid? Attempt to crash flight, or Russia-Ukraine rivalry? Mystery surrounds the mid-air drama involving a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai aircraft that transmitted emergency signals and triggered a hijacking scare on Wednesday. While accounts of what prompted the distress calls differ, initial assessments suggest a violent fight between the pilots - one Russian and the other Ukrainian - may have been behind the incident.

FLYDUBAI JET HIJACK SCARE: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR?

1) The Dubai-Tel Aviv flight (FZ1073), with around 180 passengers, initially transmitted distress code 7700, the signal for a general emergency. Seconds later, it transmitted the code 7500, which indicates possible hijacking.

2) The aircraft descended 17,400 feet in just over two minutes, flight tracking data shows.

3) Initial assessments and reports indicate a fight in the cockpit between the pilots led to the activation of the distress signal.

4) A local Israeli media report, citing eyewitnesses, said that one of the pilots displayed unruly behaviour and threatened suicide. The report said an Israeli passenger entered the cockpit and helped the co-pilot neutralise the "unruly" pilot.

5) A passenger, Miriam, said she heard screaming from the cockpit. When the cabin door was opened, she saw one of the pilots lying injured with a folding knife in his hand. There was "blood everywhere", she said, Reuters reported.

- Ends