Washington, Oct 1 (IANS): US President Donald Trump has called Indian pilot Smit Machchhar a hero, saying the severely wounded Flydubai captain opened the cockpit door after being stabbed by the co-pilot during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The aircraft later made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Trump said the motive remained unknown and that the extraordinary account he described had not been independently verified.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said he had discussed the incident “at length” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He called the story “incredible” but acknowledged that he did not know whether it was true.
According to Trump, Machchhar was in very bad condition but managed to open the solid-steel cockpit door and call for help. An Israeli plumber seated near the front of the aircraft heard the commotion, entered the cockpit and pulled the alleged attacker away. Other passengers then restrained the co-pilot.
Trump said the aircraft was descending at an extremely steep angle when the passenger intervened, allegedly causing the rudder to break off. The plumber, who had never flown a plane, reportedly used the cockpit controls to bring the aircraft level after drawing on knowledge gained from the television programme “Air Disasters”. Other pilots and security personnel later reached the cockpit and took control.
Immediately after recounting the sequence, Trump said: “Now, this is the story that I heard. I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s the story that I got from Bibi.” He described the co-pilot as “perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job”, but said authorities had not established whether the suspect intended to crash the aircraft.
Public reports said passengers and crew intervened before additional flight crew landed the aircraft safely. Flydubai said its aircraft had experienced an incident and that the passengers were safe. Saudi authorities were reportedly questioning the alleged attacker, while the passengers later continued their journey to Israel aboard another aircraft.
Original Source: https://tripurachronicle.in/world-news/trump-calls-indian-flydubai-pilot-a-hero-says-co-pilot-perhaps-a-terrorist/
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Publish Date: 2026-10-01 08:24:00
