Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared a mid-air attack on a Flydubai flight to the 9/11 terror attacks. He said, “Those pilots managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster.” Capt. Smit Machchhar was stabbed, but passengers helped subdue the attacker. The suspect is now being interrogated in Saudi Arabia after the incident.
The Israeli prime minister also recalled meeting Hayun at the airport, saying the passenger was “drenched” in the blood of the Indian pilot.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has compared the mid-air attack aboard a Flydubai flight bound for Israel with the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States, saying the pilots and passengers appeared to have prevented a similar disaster.
“Those pilots managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster, because that’s what it looks like was happening," Netanyahu told CNN on Wednesday evening while describing the incident, in which one pilot allegedly stabbed his colleague during the flight.
According to Netanyahu, the Indian pilot who was stabbed, Capt. Smit Machchhar, managed to unlock the cockpit door after being attacked. Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayun, who works as a plumber, then entered the cockpit and found the Omani pilot apparently interfering with the aircraft’s controls.
Netanyahu said passengers heard shouts and screams coming from the cockpit before Hayun entered. The passenger saw the attacking pilot hovering over the instruments and told Netanyahu that “he was trying to jam the instruments."
Hayun then pulled back on the aircraft’s controls while another passenger and a crew member subdued the attacker, Netanyahu said. Reserve pilots subsequently entered the cockpit and stabilised the plane.
‘Drenched’ In Pilot’s Blood
The Israeli prime minister also recalled meeting Hayun at the airport, saying the passenger was “drenched" in the blood of the Indian pilot.
Netanyahu said the suspected attacker was being interrogated in Saudi Arabia and that the United Arab Emirates had agreed to Israel participating in the interrogation.
US President Donald Trump was also briefed about the incident by Netanyahu and others. Trump described the stabbed pilot as a “hero" for managing to open the cockpit door and also praised Hayun for his actions.
Netanyahu, however, said investigators had no specific information indicating that Tehran had any involvement in the incident.
The Israeli prime minister also referred to his own history involving hijackings. He was wounded while taking part in the 1972 Israeli commando raid that freed passengers from a hijacked Sabena flight, while his brother Yoni was killed four years later while leading the Entebbe hostage rescue operation.