An Israel-bound flight made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after sending a hijacking alert, reportedly plummeting 17,000 feet in two minutes.

 Israeli officials later ruled out a hijacking, saying the alert was triggered by an altercation between the pilots, with initial indications suggested one of them may have attempted to crash the plane, Middle East Eye reported.

However, later Israeli media accounts cited witnesses as saying a stabbing occured during the incident. Images released from the flight appeared to show one of the pilots tied up.

The company that owns Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia, where the plane was diverted, said in a statement that both the captain and first officer on the Flydubai plane sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital.

A senior Israeli official told Channel 12 that a “severe disaster was prevented”.

The Flydubai flight was travelling from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport with 180 Israeli passengers on board.

It began a steep descent about an hour before its scheduled arrival, dropping from 34,000 feet to 16,000 feet in less than two minutes.

The plane eventually landed safely in Tabuk, in north-western Saudi Arabia.

Passengers described scenes of chaos as the plane began its steep descent.

Some told Israeli media that passengers broke into the cockpit and intervened to stop the descent.

Other reports said one of the pilots may have attempted to crash the plane.