Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday it was too early to say who was behind the foiled attempt to crash the flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Netanyahu added that Israel would "possibly" be participating in the probe into the incident.
Netanyahu's comments were in response to a question about whether there was any indication of Iranian involvement in the incident, during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on the network's Hannity program.
Passengers on the flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv reached Israel safely on Wednesday after customers and crew foiled a co-pilot's attempt to crash the aircraft, Israeli officials said, in a struggle that began when he stabbed the pilot and sent the jet plunging nearly 14,000 feet (4,267 m) in less than 30 seconds.
Passengers and crew entered the cockpit, overpowered the co-pilot and enabled a second pair of flydubai pilots who were aboard the flight to land the jet safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, according to Israeli officials.
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Separately, Netanyahu also praised Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who foiled the attempted crash of the plane. Machchhar saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals.
"My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery," Netanyahu said.
"Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker, preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster," he said in a post on X.
My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 30, 2026
Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air…
Wishing Machchhar a speedy and full recovery, Netanyahu said, "He is a true hero".
(With inputs from Reuters & PTI)
