Passenger plane plunges 3 miles in 1 minute after co-pilot stabs captain in while in cockpit

Radar path showing when flight plunged in mid-air.

A horrifying scene unfolded in the cockpit of a commercial flight from Dubai to Israel Wednesday after the plane's co-pilot stabbed the captain while in the cockpit as part of an apparent attempt to hijack the plane, leading the plane to temporarily nosedive. The jet landed safely in Saudi Arabia after passengers intervened. 

According to multiple reports, a fight ensued in the cockpit and the co-pilot stabbed the captain repeatedly. According to Jerusalem Post, the co-pilot was attempting to hijack the plane, and at one point, the plane plunged rapidly about 17,000 feet -- or about three miles -- in a minute. Passengers then stormed the cockpit and restored order amid the chaos. 

Shocking footage posted on social media showed the captain of the plane receiving medical attention after being stabbed multiple times. Blood is seen smeared on the walls of the plane as passengers administered aid to the wounded aviator as well as his attacker. 

The jet eventually leveled off, thanks to an additional flight crew that happened on the plane as passengers, and made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Miraculously, there we no other serious injuries besides those suffered by the two pilots. 

According to CBS News, Israeli security officials were probing the possibility that the co-pilot was attempting a 9/11-style hijacking, and whether he was a lone wolf or working as part of a terror network.

Miryam Shira Ohayon, a passenger on the plane, opened up about the harrowing ordeal afterward. CBS News reported Ohayon said the plane was "pretty much out of control" as the captain was stabbed while the plane was flying above Jordan.

"The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane," Ohayon told reporters. "It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralized him."

Ohayon said, "There was also a doctor who gave first aid, and people who treated both of them. Other than the pilot, there were no injuries, but the bigger fear was really a crash, which is exactly what he was trying to do," she added.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a press conference the attempted hijacker was attempting to crash the plane.

For more on the story and Netanyahu's remarks, watch the video below.