What happened on board the rerouted flydubai plane?

A plane heading to Tel Aviv from Dubai was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after one of the pilots allegedly tried to crash the plane and kill everyone onboard.

Flight FZ 1703 took off from Dubai at 3.05am Irish time this morning.

Here's what we know about what unfolded on board:

5.21am: sudden loss of altitude

The aircraft suddenly plummeted a little over two hours into the flight.

The plane dropped from nearly 34,000 feet at 5.21am to less than 17,000 feet at 5.22am, according to data from the Flightradar24 website.

5.31am: distress signal

The plane transmitted a general emergency signal at 5.31am, followed by a code to report a hijacking at 5.38am, according to Israeli media reports.

Israel's public broadcaster Kan and Channel 12 reported that the Israeli military scrambled fighter jets after initial fears of a hijacking.

Fight between pilots

The plane began to spin "pretty much out of control", passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said that one pilot had stabbed the other in an attempt to take over and crash the plane.

Passenger pilots take over

Passengers broke into the cockpit and overpowered the pilot who had tried to take control of the plane, Israeli officials said.

Another crew member who was flying on the plane was given command to fly the plane, Israeli officials said.

6.45am: plane lands in Tabuk

According to a statement from the company operating the airport, the flydubai plane landed in the northern Saudi town of Tabuk "at 9.45am (6.45am Irish time) and its captain and copilot were found to have injuries and were transported to hospital".

Passengers began to post footage from the plane, including of an Israeli man with blood trickling from a wound on his hand pleading for assistance.

Netanyahu says 'major incident' averted

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement saying the incident was "under control".

In a video statement afterwards, Mr Netanyahu saluted the "heroes" on board who "prevented a major disaster".

Mr Netanyahu added that Saudi authorities had arrested the co-pilot, who was being interrogated. The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, called it an "attempted jihadist terror attack".

Around 1.49pm: new flight departs

After medical attention in Tabuk, a new plane takes off to bring the passengers to their original destination, Tel Aviv.

3.34pm: flight lands in Israel

The new flight, also operated by flydubai, landed on the tarmac of Ben Gurion airport at 3.34pm