Trump warns Iran after FlyDubai copilot allegedly tried to crash Israel flight

A FlyDubai copilot allegedly tried to crash a Tel Aviv-bound flight after stabbing the captain. The mid-air attack has widened security fears as investigators examine possible terror links and regional fallout.

In Short

• Passengers overpowered the copilot after he stabbed the captain mid-flight
• The injured Indian pilot reopened the cockpit and helped steady descent
• Distress codes signalled emergency and unlawful interference before the jet landed

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran would be struck "very hard" if it was found to be linked to a copilot who allegedly tried to crash a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel. The plane, carrying 182 people from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv, plunged after the copilot stabbed the captain, before people on board overpowered him and the aircraft was landed in Saudi Arabia.

Trump's warning came as investigators tried to establish a motive for the attack and as wider diplomatic efforts to end the seven-month war appeared to have stalled. Iranian officials said on Wednesday they had received an official US response to Tehran's latest proposal to end the war, though they did not say what it contained. A US official also said the American military had dispatched roughly 9,000 troops with a group of ships to the Middle East, raising the possibility that three carriers could be in the region by late October. Despite Trump's public rejection of Iran's proposal, mediators have continued efforts to broker a deal to end the fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz.

Asked at the White House whether he had been briefed about any links between the copilot and Tehran, Trump said, "We're working on it right now." He added, "I would say the answer, based on what I'm hearing, is yes, but we're working on it right now," without giving details on why he suspected Iranian involvement. Asked if the US would retaliate if Iran was behind the attack, Trump said, "Oh they'll be hit, very hard, don't worry." He added, "You just ask them. They know what happened. They'll be hit very hard." In an interview with Time magazine published on Thursday, Trump also said he would not accept proposals from Iran that "he wouldn't have approved a year ago," and left open the possibility of resuming bombing after the November 3 US election.

Passengers said the bloodied Indian captain managed to open the cockpit door and let them in, after which they grappled with the copilot and steadied a descent so sharp that the plane's rudder was torn away. "We felt helpless, suspended in midair, and I didn't know who to turn to. But it was all instinct to survive," passenger Asaf Rajuan said in a statement shared by Israel's presidency. Capt. Smit Machchhar, who was widely praised after the incident, was recovering in Abu Dhabi, the Indian government said on Thursday. It was not clear what weapon the copilot had used.

A regional official briefed on the investigation said the suspect, an Omani citizen, was under arrest and that Saudi authorities were working with Israel and other countries to determine a motive. He said the UAE, the United States and Oman were also involved, while Saudi Arabia said the copilot had been handed over to the UAE. "All possible scenarios, from terrorism to mental disorders, are being looked into. Nothing is ruled out for now," the official said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without giving details, said the attacker had undergone Islamist indoctrination, but when asked how he knew that, his office said it would not comment. Netanyahu also said the suspect had apparently got through a loophole in Israeli aviation rules that usually bar pilots from flying to Israel if they are from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, which Oman does not. Asked if there was any indication of Iranian involvement, Netanyahu said it was "too early to say".

Another regional official said Israeli intelligence and security officials were in Saudi Arabia to help investigate the copilot, and that Israel had asked for him to be sent there for questioning, though it was not clear whether that would happen. The UAE said its own investigation team had begun looking into the attack and "whether it was linked to any terrorist purpose", adding that Emirati authorities had jurisdiction because the plane was registered there and UAE law applied to crimes committed on board. Netanyahu said he had spoken with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who agreed that Israel would join the interrogation of the suspect. On Wednesday, Trump said he and Netanyahu had discussed the incident "at length" by phone and that the copilot "was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job". Oman's government has not commented. Netanyahu had also spoken in recent days of heightened security threats, though he told CNN that Israel had received no specific warning.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said most of those on board were from Israel, along with others from India and the UAE. The US State Department said four passengers were American citizens. Data from Flightradar24 showed that someone in the cockpit sent out two four-digit distress codes while the plane flew erratically near the Jordanian border with Saudi Arabia. The first was "7700", the universal signal for an emergency, followed by "7500", which indicates unlawful interference, including a possible hijacking. The codes are used when it is impossible or dangerous for pilots to speak over the radio. FlyDubai said the jet was secured by on-duty crew members "who diverted and landed the aircraft safely". A regional official said those crew members were pilots in training. Flightradar24 data showed that about two and a half hours after take-off, the Boeing 737 Max 8 dropped from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in about a minute before circling erratically and landing in Tabuk.

The investigation is now focused on why the copilot attacked the captain and whether anyone helped him, as authorities from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the US and Oman work across jurisdictions. The captain is recovering, the suspect is in custody, and Trump has warned of a strong US response if Iran is found to have been involved in the attempt on the lives of those on board.

With PTI Inputs

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