US President Donald Trump has warned that Iran would be “hit very hard” if investigators determine that Tehran was connected to an apparent attack by a pilot aboard a flydubai flight bound for Israel.
The incident, which unfolded a day earlier, sent the aircraft into a sudden descent and left passengers scrambling to prevent a catastrophe. The plane eventually made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, after which its mostly Israeli passengers returned home on a replacement flight to a hero’s welcome.
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Trump’s warning came as the United Arab Emirates opened an investigation into possible terrorist links and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged that the suspect had been subjected to “Islamist radical indoctrination”.
“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes but we’re working on it right now,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked whether Iran had been involved in the incident aboard the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
Donald Trump’s threat coincided with a wider US military buildup in the region
The remarks came amid a broader US military buildup across the region.
Axios reported that Washington had recently sent additional Patriot missile batteries to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to help shield critical energy infrastructure from a possible Iranian response.
The US news outlet also said the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and its strike group were moving toward the Middle East, potentially joining two other US carrier strike groups already deployed there.
While questions mounted over the motive, officials in the UAE and Saudi Arabia began reconstructing what happened inside the aircraft.
Saudi Arabia said the co-pilot had been handed over to the UAE yesterday alongside an “Emirati security team”. Its preliminary investigation found that he had attacked the aircraft’s captain.
The alleged assault led to a struggle over control of the plane before it diverted for an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The passengers were later taken to Israel on another flight.
The plane was heading to Tel Aviv from Dubai and was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia
‘Radical indoctrination’
“We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Mr Netanyahu told the “Fox & Friends” television programme, offering no further details.
“The attacker, he calls out to the aircrew, ‘Kill me, kill me’,” Mr Netanyahu said, adding that it was “clear he was suicidal”.
His comments followed a statement by the UAE’s chief prosecutor that investigators would examine whether the episode involved “terrorist activity or intent”.
Mr Netanyahu said the UAE would take the lead in the inquiry, with Israel also involved.
He said the co-pilot was an Omani national and that Israel would examine how he had been approved to operate flights into the country.
“We have constraints that say that you can’t have pilots from countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel. Obviously he was able to go through that,” Mr Netanyahu told Fox News.
Earlier, Mr Netanyahu had praised Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, and the passengers for preventing disaster after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed him and attempted to bring down the aircraft.
Passengers said they charged toward the cockpit and fought to regain control after the plane abruptly plunged. The aircraft lost about 17,000 feet in a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website.
Israeli officials have described the episode as “an attempted terrorist attack”, although Mr Netanyahu had previously told CBS News that a mental-health crisis could not be ruled out.
“During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board,” Mr Netanyahu said in a video message.
Pilot Smit Machchhar was hailed a ‘hero’
‘Heroes’
Mr Netanyahu later commended Mr Machchhar for “his extraordinary bravery”.
The Indian ambassador to the UAE visited the injured captain, while the embassy said he was in “good health and recovering well”.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him a “HERO”, saying his actions had helped save lives.
Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon said the aircraft was “pretty much out of control” as the crisis unfolded over Jordan.
“The co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane,” she told reporters.
What happened on board the rerouted flydubai plane?
“It was really on the way to crashing, and it was simply the resourcefulness of many people who took control of the co-pilot and neutralised him.”
Flydubai said another “on-duty flydubai crew traveling on the flight… landed the aircraft safely” and announced that it was suspending flights to Israel while the investigation continued.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he would honour five Israelis who helped overpower the co-pilot and stop the aircraft from crashing.
