Netanyahu discusses FlyDubai flight incident involving pilot stabbing

<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu provided details about a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel during which a pilot stabbed a colleague, causing the plane to lose altitude rapidly.</p><p>Netanyahu stated in an interview with CNN on Wednesday that the Indian pilot who was stabbed, Capt. Smit Machchhar, unlocked the cockpit after the attack. An Israeli passenger, Yaniv Hayun, who works as a plumber, entered the cockpit and found the Omani pilot attempting to interfere with the aircraft's controls.</p><hr /><ul><li>Netanyahu mentioned that the suspect is being interrogated in Saudi Arabia and that the UAE has allowed Israel to participate in the interrogation.</li></ul><p>During the interview, Netanyahu said that passengers heard shouts and screams from the cockpit, and Hayun observed the attacking pilot over the instruments, noting, "he was trying to jam the instruments."</p><ul><li>Hayun pulled back on the aircraft's controls, while another passenger and a crew member subdued the attacker. Reserve pilots then stabilized the plane.</li><li>Netanyahu stated that he met Hayun at the airport, describing him as being "drenched" in the Indian pilot's blood.</li></ul><p>Former President Trump commented that Netanyahu and others had briefed him on the incident, calling the stabbed pilot a "hero" for managing to open the cockpit door and praising Hayun's actions.</p><ul><li>Netanyahu also referenced his own experiences with hijackings, noting that he was wounded during the 1972 Israeli commando raid that freed passengers from a hijacked Sabena flight, and that his brother Yoni was killed during the Entebbe hostage rescue four years later.</li></ul><p>Netanyahu clarified that investigators do not have specific information linking Tehran to this incident.</p><p>He concluded by stating, "Those pilots managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster, because that's what it looks like was happening."</p>