'Obviously hated Israelis': Netanyahu doesn't rule out Iran link in Flydubai attack, but calls it 'too early'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Obviously hated Israelis': Netanyahu doesn't rule out Iran link in Flydubai attack, but calls it 'too early'")
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Photograph: (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Flydubai co-pilot who allegedly stabbed Indian pilot Smit Machchhar appeared to have tried to crash the plane and “obviously hated Israelis”. Netanyahu said it was too early to determine whether Iran was involved
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his latest statement, did not rule our Iranian involvement in the Flydubai incident but also did not confirm it. It said that he doesn’t know “the exact background” of the flydubai copilot who attacked the captain but added that the copilot "obviously hated Israelis.”
“That is fanaticism and hatred of an incalculable level,” Netanyahu said. About Iranian involvement in the attack, Netanyahu said, “It’s too early to say.” “The attacking pilot is now being investigated Saudi Arabia. I think he’ll be taken to the Emirates where he comes from — or at least where he flew off from. We’ll be following and also possibly participating in this investigation.”
Earlier on Sep 30, Netanyahu called it “extremely serious security incident.” “This morning there was an extremely serious security incident. Almost all of the passengers on the flight were Israelis,” he said in his first reaction after the incident. Netanyahu added that as the plane drew close to Israel, “one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and all indications show that he tried to crash the plane along with its passengers.” The PM said that he spoke to an Israeli passenger. “He told me that the plane went into a dive. He told me that somehow, he managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members, and together they managed to stop the pilot while he was attempting to damage the plane’s systems.”
What happened?
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Flydubai flight FZ1073 which was 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 stabbed by his co-pilot who allegedly attempted to crash the plane. As the aircraft plunged, the aircraft's cockpit transponder sent code 7500, the universal aviation signal for an unlawful interference or hijacking. This alerted neighboring air traffic sectors, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia, that the aircraft’s command systems were actively compromised. Despite suffering injuries, Indian pilot managed to unlock the cockpit door. A passenger identified as Yaniv Hayun, alongside others, overpowered and restrained the co-pilot. A reserve crew consisting of a second pair of flydubai pilots who happened to be traveling aboard the flight took control of the aircraft. They safely diverted and landed the plane at Tabuk Regional Airport (TUU) in Saudi Arabia.
