Trump said the captain was badly injured but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to intervene.
US President Donald Trump said he spoke at length with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the Flydubai incident, saying the co-pilot was “perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job”.
Trump made the remarks to reporters at the White House on Thursday while describing what he said he had been told about the incident aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight.
“I did speak to Bibi Netanyahu at length about this event, and it seems as though the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job, and he stabbed the pilot,” Trump said.
Trump Describes Pilot, Passenger Actions
Trump said the captain was badly injured but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to intervene.
Indian Captain Smit Machchhar, who was reportedly stabbed during the incident, fought back against the co-pilot and helped prevent the aircraft from crashing, according to accounts of the incident.
“The pilot was in very bad shape, and I guess he still is in very bad shape, but he had the sense to — amazing, in a way he was a hero — to open the door,” he said.
He also described an Israeli passenger, whom he said was a plumber with no flying experience, as playing a key role in helping stop the incident.
According to Trump’s account, the aircraft was descending sharply when passengers overpowered the co-pilot. He said the passenger then took control of the aircraft and “levelled out the plane before it crashed”.
“Having never flown a plane, he took the stick, lifted it up and levelled out the plane before it crashed,” the US president said.
Trump said the account came from Netanyahu and others, but stressed that he had not independently verified all the details.