President Donald Trump called the Flydubai rescue “the most amazing story” on Wednesday. He spoke at length with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get the full details. A badly injured captain succeeded in opening the cockpit door, the president recalled. This action allowed passengers to rush the flight deck and stop the attack.
Trump stated the co-pilot might have been a terrorist or a whack-job who stabbed the pilot. The pilot was left in very bad shape. According to reports, the captain managed to retreat, open the door, and shout. Without that door opening, the situation could have ended much worse for everyone on board.
.@POTUS on the FlyDubai plane crash attempt: “It’s the most amazing story.” pic.twitter.com/SpGL4uXc4Z
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 30, 2026
Netanyahu separately hailed the captain, Smit Machchhar, as a “true hero.” Following the attack, the captain stayed hospitalized in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu’s office said the captain fought back despite being seriously injured. Collapsing due to his injuries, he still succeeded in opening the cockpit door.
A Netanyahu spokesman said the bloodied captain used “the last moments of his energy” to activate the door release, according to Breitbart. The captain lay wounded on the floor while doing this. The plane had plunged thousands of feet during the struggle. Firsthand accounts describe a chaotic fight as the crew and passengers subdued the attacker.
This man is a hero.
Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian captain of flydubai Flight 1073, fought back after being stabbed in the cockpit.
Despite being severely injured, he managed to unlock the cockpit door – allowing Israeli passengers and the Emirati crew to intervene and save… pic.twitter.com/x4W3mtQkag
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 30, 2026
Trump shared a specific story he heard from the prime minister about an Israeli plumber. The president said this passenger had no experience flying a plane. “A plumber, an Israeli plumber, never flew a plane, was rarely in planes, very rarely flew,” Trump said, according to the Washington Examiner. He claimed the man saw the danger and used his strength to help.
Trump described how the plane was going down at a sharp angle. He said the rudder even “ripped off the back of the plane.” The plumber allegedly grabbed the controls to level the aircraft. Trump admitted, “I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s the story that I got from Bibi.” In his own comments, the prime minister did not label the passenger a plumber.
Footage from the moments after the aircraft was seized shows one of those involved saying, “They attacked us and we are guarding the pilot here. pic.twitter.com/Np5skLY4Fy
— GCG News TV (@gcgnewstv) September 30, 2026
Four Americans were among the 174 passengers on the flight. Fox News stated that four U.S. citizens were on board during the co-pilot’s stabbing of the pilot. Within 30 seconds, the jet dropped almost 14,000 feet. The crisis forced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia to save the lives on board.
Trump called the captain’s actions heroic during the crisis. He claimed the captain resisted, fought back, opened the cockpit door, and allowed crew and passengers to subdue the attacker. This prevented a catastrophic mid-air disaster for the Israel-bound jet. The story highlights the bravery of the crew and the quick actions of the passengers.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at Ben-Gurion International Airport with Yaniv, the passenger who burst into the cockpit on the flight from Dubai to Israel.
Photos: Kobi Gideon (GPO) pic.twitter.com/PcCNzKLUKj
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 30, 2026
Four U.S. citizens were on the flight that plunged midair. The attack forced the plane to land in Saudi Arabia. For the first time, Trump commented, describing the event as an “incredible story”. He told reporters the pilot was in “very bad shape” but survived the ordeal. The details from the prime minister show just how close the flight came to a tragedy.
