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Trump says Netanyahu told him ‘Israeli plumber’ stabilized hijacked flight

Read the original at Washington Examiner ↗
Cite

Carter, C. (2026, September 30). Trump says Netanyahu told him ‘Israeli plumber’ stabilized hijacked flight. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/4749249/trump-netanyahu-israeli-plumber-stabilized-hijacked-flydubai-plane-broke-into-cockpit/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Washington Examiner · collected 2026-09-30 · by Claire Carter

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump told reporters that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed him of an incident where an unnamed Israeli plumber helped stabilize a hijacked Flydubai flight despite having no experience in flying commercial aircraft. During a call with Netanyahu following the attempted hijacking by the copilot, Trump relayed that the Israeli passenger physically removed the rogue pilot and steadied the plane before it could crash. Netanyahu confirmed that the passengers subdued the attacker after he stabbed his colleague, and another crew member then stabilized the plane once inside the cockpit. Trump emphasized the dramatic nature of the event but noted that he did not independently verify Netanyahu’s account.
Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 30, 2026, a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv signaled an emergency and was diverted to land at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. The incident initially raised concerns about a possible hijacking, prompting Israel to scramble warplanes. However, Israeli officials later reported that the emergency signals were due to a physical altercation between the plane's two pilots rather than a hijacking attempt.

The flight, identified as Flydubai Flight FZ1073, transmitted multiple emergency alerts after takeoff and over Jordanian airspace before landing safely in Saudi Arabia. Passengers on board managed to overpower the attacker, who was later identified by UAE officials as Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami. Al-Hammami allegedly attempted to crash the plane into Tel Aviv's airport but was stopped by passengers.

UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi stated that signs of al-Hammami’s radicalization first emerged in 2017 while he was studying engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. He reportedly became influenced by extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organizations during this period.

Written for “Flydubai Hijacker's Radicalization Path” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 345 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Flydubai Hijacker's Radicalization Path
Crime & Law · 346 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Jerusalem Daily: Flight carrying Israelis diverted after stabbing Same event
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Centre Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
Bloodied Israel-bound jet passenger begs for help after ‘hijacking’: ‘We’ve subdued the terrorists’ Same event
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
'There is a hijacking. We have taken control of the terrorist - we need help': Passenger films plea for assistance moments after overpowering knifeman who stabbed pilot Same event
Daily Mail
Hedges 5 of 52 claims Outlet record 69/100
Passengers describe stabbing on Israel-bound plane Same event
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 68/100
Flydubai Pilot Arrested After 'Apparently' Trying to Crash Israel-Bound Plane, Says Netanyahu Same event
TIME
Hedges 1 of 10 claims Outlet record 59/100
Passengers recount terrifying attempted hijack of Dubai to Israel flight Same event
CBS News
Hedges 2 of 39 claims Outlet record 66/100
'British hero' pulled Flydubai hijack jet out of 'death plunge' after 'jihadist' pilot stabbed fellow crewman and tried to crash plane Same event
Daily Mail
Hedges 5 of 77 claims Outlet record 69/100
Israel’s Netanyahu meets passengers of diverted flydubai flight at Tel Aviv airport Same event
The Straits Times
Hedges 3 of 11 claims Outlet record 66/100
Flydubai passenger describes putting attacker in chokehold after cockpit stabbing Same event
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 28 claims Outlet record 68/100
While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 1, 2026 Different event
The Straits Times
Hedges 3 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different individuals credited for stabilizing the hijacked flight—one an Israeli plumber and another an Indian pilot.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
4 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
70/100
Washington Examiner's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
346
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Claire Carter
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 123 articles by Claire Carter →

Topics

Flydubai Indian Israeli Saudi Saudi Arabia

Subjects

Israeli NORP · 6× Trump PERSON · 6× Netanyahu PERSON · 4× Flydubai ORG · 3× Benjamin Netanyahu PERSON · 1× Bibi PERSON · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Indian NORP · 1× Saudi Arabia GPE · 1× Smit Machchhar PERSON · 1×

Narrative

President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him that an Israeli plumber was responsible for stabilizing a hijacked Flydubai flight, emphasizing that the passenger had no experience operating a commercial aircraft.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30
2026-09-30 · Washington Examiner
Trump says Netanyahu told him ‘Israeli plumber’ stabilized hijacked flight · assertive framing

Claims (23 extracted, 4 hedged)

President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him that an Israeli plumber was responsible for stabilizing a hijacked Flydubai flight, emphasizing that the passenger had no experience operating a commercial aircraft. asserted
passenger → say → aircraft
Trump recounted his call with Netanyahu to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. asserted
Trump → recount → Wednesday
The president said he spoke with the prime minister following the copilot of a Flydubai flight allegedly attempting to crash the plane. uncertain
he → say → plane
The individual Trump is referring to was one of several passengers who stepped up to regain control of the aircraft after the rogue copilot allegedly stabbed his colleague. uncertain
copilot → refer → colleague
“A plumber, an Israeli plumber, never flew a plane, was rarely in planes, very rarely flew,” Trump said. asserted
Trump → fly → planes
“An Israeli plumber saw what was happening. asserted
what → see → ?
Strong, you know, when you lift pipe all day, you’re strong. asserted
you → know → pipe
And he saw what was going on. asserted
what → see → ?
He heard the screaming. asserted
He → hear → screaming
The plane was going sharply down at an unbelievable angle, so sharp that the rudder ripped off the back of the plane. asserted
rudder → go → plane
Plane wasn’t designed to go at a speed anywhere near that, and so it was well beyond its limits. … asserted
it → design → limits
He ripped this guy out of the seat, threw him back. asserted
He → rip → him
The crowd got him. asserted
crowd → get → him
The passengers got him. asserted
passengers → get → him
And having never flown a plane, he took the stick, lifted it up, and leveled out the plane before it crashed.” According to Netanyahu’s account, the passengers, many of whom were Israeli, were saved when a passenger and crew member managed to break into the cockpit after the stabbed pilot opened the door, stopping the pilot as he attempted to damage the plane’s systems. uncertain
he → fly → systems
After subduing the pilot, another crew member entered the cockpit and stabilized the plane. asserted
member → subdue → plane
“I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s the story that I got from Bibi,” Trump said, referring to Netanyahu. asserted
Trump → know → Netanyahu
The prime minister did not identify the passenger who stabilized the plane as a plumber, but Trump said he received the information in a private phone call. asserted
he → identify → call
The pilot who unlocked the cockpit door of a hijacked Flydubai flight after getting stabbed was identified by officials as Indian national Smit Machchhar. asserted
who → unlock → Machchhar
Netanyahu said the plane was ultimately diverted and landed in Saudi Arabia, where the pilot who attempted the hijacking is now being interrogated by Saudi authorities. asserted
who → say → authorities
The prime minister didn’t offer up a motive for the pilot’s actions, but Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz quickly characterized the incident as a “jihadist terrorist attack attempt.” asserted
Katz → offer → attempt
Some reports have suggested the pilot was an Omani national, but officials have yet to release details. uncertain
officials → suggest → details
Trump, however, said the situation seemed as if the pilot was a “terrorist or, perhaps, a whack job.” asserted
pilot → say → ?
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