HighLights
  1. Trump claims Iran potentially linked to flydubai co-pilot's actions.
  2. Indian pilot Smit Machchhal praised for thwarting crash attempt.
  3. Israeli PM states co-pilot underwent Islamist radical indoctrination.

flydubai Flight Scare: US President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that Iran may be linked to the flydubai co-pilot who attempted to crash the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight, which landed in Saudi Arabia. While speaking to reporters at the White House, he said 'based on what he was hearing,' Iran might be linked to the flydubai copilot as investigators try to establish motive.

"We're working on it right now. I would say the answer, based on what I'm hearing, is yes, but we're working on it right now," Trump said.

ALSO READ: Flydubai Scare: UAE Orders Probe, Smit Machchhar Stable, Israel Alleges Abraham Accords Sabotage Plot; Top Updates

He did not offer details. Asked if the US would retaliate against Tehran if it was behind the attack, Trump said, "Oh, they'll be hit very hard, don't worry. You just ask them. They know what happened. They'll be hit very hard," he said.

Trump Calls Indian Pilot A 'Hero'

Trump hailed the flydubai pilot Smit Machchhal as a "hero" for fighting off a knife attack from the co-pilot, opening the cockpit door and calling for help to foil a bid to crash the aircraft. Interacting with reporters at the Oval Office, Trump said he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told him that a plumber, who had never flown an aircraft, made a dramatic intervention to steady the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight which landed in Saudi Arabia.

ALSO READ: 'In Good Health, Recovering Well': Indian Envoy To UAE  Meets Flydubai Pilot Smit Machchhar

"The pilot was in very bad shape; I guess he still is in very bad shape, but he had the sense to, amazing, to, in a way he was a hero," Trump said, recalling his conversation with Netanyahu.

Netanyahu Claims Accused Co-Pilot Underwent Islamist Indoctrination

In another development, Israel's prime minister claimed that the co-pilot who stabbed Indian captain Smit Machchhar in the cockpit of a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination. "We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination," he said in the interview with Fox News.

ALSO READ: Smit Machchhar Wasn't The First: How An Indian Nanny Saved Israeli Child During 26/11 Mumbai Attacks

The attacker behind yesterday's attempted flight hijacking was "suicidal" and likely intended to bring down the plane, he added.

UAE Begins Investigation

Meanwhile, the UAE on Thursday said it has begun an investigation into an incident aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv that forced the aircraft to divert and land in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the United Arab Emirates is "closely following" the incident involving flydubai flight FZ1073, which was diverted and landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar fought off his co-pilot, who allegedly attempted to crash the aircraft, which had to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

(With Agencies Inputs) 

You May Also Like To Watch


Also In News