US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he spoke at length with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the dramatic incident aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, saying the co-pilot may have been a terrorist and recounting an account in which an Israeli plumber helped prevent the aircraft from crashing. Trump said he had heard the account from Netanyahu and others but cautioned that he could not independently confirm it.
"This is the story that I heard - I don't know if it's true, but that's the story that I got from Bibi (Netanyahu)," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. According to Trump, the co-pilot was "perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack-job" and had stabbed the pilot before the aircraft began plunging. Trump said an Israeli passenger described as a plumber helped subdue the attacker and, despite having no flying experience, helped pull the aircraft out of its dive.
The aircraft had dropped nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds, according to flight-tracking data. The flight, FZ1073, was carrying 174 people, most of them Israeli nationals, when the incident occurred while it was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Israeli officials said the co-pilot stabbed the captain, identified by Netanyahu's office as Indian national Smit Machchhar, before the aircraft rapidly descended. Machchhar, who was injured, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to intervene, according to a Netanyahu spokesperson.
Passengers described a frantic struggle in the cockpit as they attempted to restrain the attacker. Israeli officials praised those who intervened, while Netanyahu later met passengers who helped stop the assault after they arrived in Israel. The co-pilot was taken into Saudi custody after the aircraft made an emergency landing in Tabuk. His motive remained under investigation, while Flydubai said the reasons behind the incident were not yet known and urged against premature speculation. The incident has also highlighted the close aviation links between Israel and the United Arab Emirates established under the Abraham Accords in 2020.