Trump says Netanyahu told him plumber helped save flydubai flight

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US president stresses he didn't know if account is completely true

US President Donald Trump has recounted a dramatic account of an emergency involving a flydubai flight travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv that landed in Saudi Arabia, saying the aircraft was saved through a heroic effort.

Trump said the plane’s co-pilot allegedly stabbed the pilot, prompting the wounded captain to open the cockpit door and call for help, while an Israeli plumber aboard the flight reportedly intervened.

Trump said he had a detailed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the incident and was told that the co-pilot may have been a terrorist or could have been mentally unstable.

According to Trump’s account, the co-pilot stabbed and seriously wounded the pilot while the aircraft was in flight. Despite his condition, the pilot allegedly managed to open the cockpit door and cry out for assistance.

Trump said the aircraft was then in an extremely steep descent when an Israeli plumber aboard the flight witnessed what was happening and stepped forward.

According to the US president’s account, the plumber dragged the co-pilot from his seat and threw him back, after which other passengers restrained the attacker.

Trump said the plumber then took hold of the aircraft’s control stick and pulled it up, helping level the plane despite having never flown an aircraft before.

“He had never flown a plane before,” Trump said while recounting the story, adding that the Israel-bound aircraft was ultimately saved through the passengers’ actions.

The aircraft later landed at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.

While describing the incident in detail, Trump repeatedly cautioned that he could not independently confirm whether the entire account was accurate.

“This is the story I heard,” Trump said, explaining that he had received the information from Netanyahu and possibly one or two other people.

He stressed that he did not know whether the account was completely true, even as he described the reported actions of those aboard the aircraft as heroic.

Also Read: Flydubai passengers reach Israel safely after bid to crash flight foiled

Trump said more than 150 Israeli citizens were aboard the flight when the incident occurred. He said he had discussed the emergency with Netanyahu and described the reported intervention as a heroic effort that prevented the Israel-bound aircraft from crashing.

Trump also said it appeared to him that the Emirati plane’s co-pilot could have been a terrorist, while also acknowledging the possibility that the man was mentally unstable.

The flight, operated by flydubai, was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv before making the emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.

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