Passengers celebrate after alleged attempt to crash FlyDubai flight

Passengers were greeted with celebrations at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport Wednesday after what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as an apparent attempt by a pilot to crash a FlyDubai flight after stabbing the other pilot.

(CNN)- Passengers were greeted with celebrations at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport Wednesday after what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as an apparent attempt by a pilot to crash a FlyDubai flight after stabbing the other pilot.

The incident happened about two hours after FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai bound for Tel Aviv.

The plane made a sharp turn north and quickly lost altitude, dropping thousands of feet in less than two minutes.

“Everyone was screaming. There were children crying,” one passenger said. “Like a death in front of our eyes moment.”

Passengers then entered the cockpit and fought the alleged attacker. One passenger later described putting the attacker in a chokehold and dragging him out of the cockpit with the help of others before grabbing the controls to help stabilize the aircraft.

FlyDubai confirmed reserve pilots who were traveling in the passenger area were able to regain control of the plane.

The aircraft was diverted to an airport in Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely despite a damaged rudder.

Passengers later returned to Israel, where they were greeted by Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minister also praised the pilot who was stabbed but continued fighting during the incident.

“The Indian pilot, the Israeli passenger, and his colleagues, and those pilots managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster,” Netanyahu said.