Trump says Iran may be linked to FlyDubai copilot who tried to crash Israel-bound jet
Investigators are examining possible terrorism, mental illness and Iranian ties after 174 people on board helped stop the aircraft, officials said.
- President Donald Trump publicly suggested that Iran may be connected to an attempted mid-air suicide crash aboard a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, relaying details from an extended briefing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Flight FZ1073—carrying over 170 passengers, primarily Israeli nationals—plunged roughly 16,000 feet in under two minutes after the co-pilot stabbed the aircraft's captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, and attempted to crash the Boeing 737.
- The catastrophe was thwarted when the wounded captain opened the cockpit lock, allowing an off-duty pilot, crew members, and Israeli passengers to rush the cockpit, neutralize the attacker, and safely land the aircraft in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
- An Israeli official identified the suspect co-pilot as an Omani national, while Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed the attacker had undergone "Islamic radical indoctrination" and confirmed Israeli authorities are investigating potential state-sponsored Iranian links.
- Following the incident, Israel scrambled fighter jets, placed security services on high alert, and immediately mandated heightened security protocols and checks for all international pilots operating flights into Israeli airspace.
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'They'll be hit very hard, don't worry,' US president tells reporters
Trump says he believes Iran linked to flydubai attacker, after Netanyahu said it’s too soon to tell
President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that the flydubai pilot accused of trying to crash a plane carrying Israelis may be linked to Iran, a step further than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been willing to go. Speaking to reporters outside the White House before boarding Marine One, Trump was asked whether the pilot is connected […]
Asked if the pilot in question – who is being held in Saudi Arabia – infiltrated through the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Trump said that “it could have been like that, yes.”
The Emirates initiated investigations. Netanyahu says that Flydubai co-pilot was Islamist radicalized.
Trump says Iran maybe linked to flydubai copilot who tried to crash flight as terror probe begins
Asked by reporters at the White House whether he had been briefed about possible links between the co-pilot and Tehran, Trump said the US was investigating the matter. "We’re working on it right now," Trump said.
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