Israeli authorities were prepared to shoot down a flydubai passenger aircraft carrying more than 170 people after it transmitted a hijack signal while heading towards Israel, CBS News reported.
The aircraft had briefly entered Jordanian airspace when Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami allegedly attacked flight captain Smit Machchhar in the cockpit and attempted to take control of the plane. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the co-pilot tried to crash the aircraft.
Most of those on board were Israeli passengers.
Fighter jets scrambled after plane lost altitude
According to CBS News, Israeli authorities have long maintained procedures for dealing with a possible hijacking or a 9/11-style attack involving a passenger aircraft.
The situation escalated after the plane reportedly plunged nearly 18,000 feet within seconds. Israeli Air Force personnel attempted to contact the cockpit but received no response.
A pre-established committee was then convened and a command centre set up, while fighter jets were scrambled and Israeli airspace was closed.
However, the aircraft turned towards Saudi Arabia instead of entering Israeli airspace. Saudi Arabia also scrambled fighter jets as the plane approached its territory.
Israeli authorities made another attempt to contact the aircraft. Sources cited by CBS said the Indian pilot had by then managed to fight off the co-pilot long enough to open the cockpit door. Israeli passengers and FlyDubai staff then overpowered the attacker, while two off-duty pilots took control of the aircraft.
The plane eventually made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
"If Flight 1073 had gotten within a certain distance, Israel would have sent jets into Jordanian airspace to investigate," sources told CBS News.
What Israel's hijack protocol says
Under the reported procedure, fighter pilots would first attempt to establish visual contact with the cockpit if ground authorities could not communicate with the aircraft.
"The Israeli fighter pilots would have gotten as close as possible to inspect the cockpit and try to make visual contact with the pilot to assess the situation," the sources said.
"They would have then done the same to the cabin to assess the status of the passengers. If there appeared to be panic, they would relay their findings to the Air Force and the pre-established committee," they added.
If the aircraft was confirmed to have been hijacked and remained in radio silence without making demands, the committee would contact the defence minister and prime minister.
"The protocol calls for a rogue flight approaching Israel to be shot out of the sky, but only the prime minister could have made that decision," sources told CBS.
Co-pilot accused of planning attack
Al-Hammami is being held in the UAE and reportedly told investigators that he had planned the attack before joining FlyDubai. He allegedly intended to kill the pilot, take control of the aircraft and crash it at Ben Gurion Airport.
CBS sources described the attempted hijacking as likely a lone-wolf attack, although investigations into the motive and circumstances are continuing.
Al-Hammami had worked for FlyDubai for about eight months, CNN reported. A deleted LinkedIn profile in his name reportedly said he had previously worked for Oman Air for seven years and left the airline in February 2025.