‘A Terrorist Job…’:Trump Speaks To Netanyahu After Co-Pilot Stabs Indian Captain, Tries To Crash Dubai-Tel Aviv Flight With 174 Israelis On Board
US President Donald Trump has reacted to the mid-air attack aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073 and said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about it.
Flydubai flight FZ1073, flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with roughly 150 to 180 mostly Israeli passengers, experienced a violent, rapid dive, plunging between 14,000 and 17,000 feet in under two minutes. This happened when Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar was allegedly stabbed by his co-pilot who attempted to crash the plane.
Addressing the media, Trump said: “I spoke to Benjamin Netanyahu about this incident. It seems as though the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job, and he stabbed the pilot. The pilot was in very bad shape. But in a way, he was a hero to open the door.”
He also called the Captain a hero. Trump said Netanyahu told him that Machchhar, an Indian national, was in “very bad shape” after the attack.
“The pilot was in very bad shape; I guess he still is in very bad shape, but he had the sense to, amazing, to, in a way he was a hero,” Trump said.
Trump also praised the passenger’s “amazing” intervention to subdue the attacker — an Israeli plumber with virtually no flying experience who sprang into action as the aircraft was plunging toward the ground.
What Happened?
As the aircraft plunged, the cockpit transponder sent code 7500 — the universal signal for unlawful interference or hijacking — alerting Jordan and Saudi air traffic that command was compromised.
Despite injuries, Captain Machchhar managed to unlock the cockpit door. Passenger Yaniv Hayoun and others overpowered and restrained the co-pilot. A reserve crew of two Flydubai pilots who happened to be aboard took control and diverted the plane to Tabuk Regional Airport in Saudi Arabia, saving 174 lives.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs hailed Captain Machchhar: “This man is a hero. Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian captain of flydubai Flight 1073, fought back after being stabbed in the cockpit. Despite being severely injured, he managed to unlock the cockpit door.”
India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, also praised him: “In the skies above, courage held the line. We salute Captain Smit Machchhar… who turned an unthinkable tragedy into a safe landing.”
A seasoned pilot with over 13 years commercial aviation experience and 9,750 flying hours on Boeing 737, Captain Machchhar is a direct-entry Captain with Flydubai and previously served 11 years as Line Training Captain with an Indian airline.
