Israel PM credits plumber for averting plane disaster

Netanyahu described a dramatic mid-flight struggle to control the flydubai plane after it plummeted 17,000 feet in the span of a minute.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a cornerstone laying ceremony for the Atarot Heritage Center at an abandon airport in East Jerusalem near the separation wall with the Israeli occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on July 5, 2026. (Photo / AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that an Israeli plumber helped avert disaster after a fight broke out in the cockpit of a jetliner taking 174 passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

"An amazing act of heroism -- of his, of the Indian pilot, of the people who helped them. They stopped a disaster that could have been global," Netanyahu told Fox News broadcaster Sean Hannity.

Netanyahu described a dramatic mid-flight struggle to control the flydubai plane after it plummeted 17,000 feet in the span of a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website.

It's unknown why the pilot -- identified as Indian national Smit Machchhar -- was attacked by his co-pilot during the flight, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

In footage shared by his office, Netanyahu could be seen meeting with passengers of the flight at Tel Aviv's airport, embracing a man in a bloodied shirt.

Netanyahu said he was told the plumber "managed to enter the cockpit, he saw the attacker" and "grabbed him from behind, pulled him back, got into the pilot's seat, pulled the stick back" while others on the plane subdued the attacker.

"He had to save them and he acted with coolness of judgment and heroism," the Israeli leader added.

Netanyahu said the motive behind the incident was unclear and officials are investigating if the drama was related to Iran or some other actor.