Newly published footage shows Israeli security personnel approaching the aircraft with drawn weapons shortly after it landed in Israel. The flight was earlier erroneously reported as a hijacking, according to Israeli media.
Newly released footage from inside the aircraft shows Israeli security personnel approaching with drawn weapons shortly after the plane landed in Israel. This is the first visual documentation of the security response to what was initially reported as a hijacking, a report that was subsequently described by Israeli media as erroneous.
The incident began earlier Tuesday when a pilot on a Bulgaria Air flight from Warsaw to Tel Aviv mistakenly triggered a hijack alert button in the cockpit. At approximately 16:02 Jerusalem time, The Zioneer reported that Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled, and the aircraft was diverted to Cyprus as a precaution. Over the course of 10 published updates through 16:02, the thread documented the sequence: the flight was initially diverted to Cyprus, then denied landing due to congestion and re-routed to Sofia, Bulgaria, before ultimately landing in Israel. The footage now released, captured by photographer Dudi Rubinstein and published at 16:02, shows the security response on the ground.
As The Zioneer reported earlier Tuesday, the pilot immediately corrected the mistaken alert, and Israeli authorities described the incident as a flight safety precaution rather than a security threat. The chain of events — from the initial distress signal to the fighter jet scramble, the diversions, and the eventual landing in Israel — was tracked in real time across the desk's bulletins.
It remains unclear why the aircraft, after being diverted to both Cyprus and Bulgaria, ultimately landed in Israel. The identity of the security personnel shown in the footage — whether Israeli or foreign — has not been specified by the reporting so far.
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