Trump: Flydubai co-pilot was "either a terrorist or insane"

The co-pilot of the Flydubai plane that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia was "either a terrorist or insane," U.S. President Donald Trump said, commenting on yesterday's incident aboard the aircraft that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia while en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

"Apparently, he was either a terrorist or an insane person, and he stabbed the pilot with a knife," the American leader told reporters at the White House.

Trump noted that he had a lengthy conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the incident, and that Netanyahu told him details of what happened.

According to the information conveyed by the Israeli prime minister, an Israeli plumber who was on board heard shouts from the cockpit and intervened in the situation. Trump emphasized that this passenger had never flown a plane before.

"He took the controls, pulled them toward himself and leveled the plane before it could crash," the head of the White House said.

According to Trump, Netanyahu also told him that the passenger had learned how to act in an emergency situation from a television program he often watched.

At the same time, the U.S. president emphasized that he cannot confirm the accuracy of this information. "That's the story that reached me. I don't know whether it's true," he said.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed that four American citizens were on board the plane operating the Dubai–Tel Aviv flight that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, Israeli media reported that the plane flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv, while in Jordanian airspace, first transmitted the general emergency code "7700" and then the code "7500," which means a hijacking of the aircraft.

The television channel "Channel 12" reported that the incident occurred because of a fight between the two pilots operating the passenger airliner. According to the channel, the co-pilot was a citizen of Oman and, having stabbed the other pilot with a knife, was seeking to crash the plane.

Later, media reported that the co-pilot, presumably a citizen of Oman, repeatedly stabbed the captain of the aircraft, and that flight attendants and some passengers, having broken down the cockpit door, burst inside and neutralized the co-pilot.

The Israeli prime minister said that specialists had identified signs that "one of the pilots intended to crash the plane."

The UAE-owned airline Flydubai said that the reason for the fight in the cockpit of the plane operating the Dubai–Tel Aviv flight is unclear.

Source: Anadolu