9/11-style attack on Israel averted, says Netanyahu, ‘too early’ say Iran responsible

Israel’s prime minister says the quick response of passengers and flight crew members prevented a “9/11 disaster” in Israel.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

The violence onboard a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv and the apparent attempt by the flight’s Omani co-pilot to hijack and crash the plane was likely part of a plot to carry out a 9/11-style attack inside Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN on Thursday.

Netanyahu provided his most detailed account of Wednesday’s incident hours after the passengers returned to Israel, while stressing that investigators have not yet established whether Iran or another organization was behind the attack.

According to Netanyahu, the crisis began after the co-pilot attacked the Indian captain inside the cockpit as Flight FZ1073 traveled from Dubai toward Tel Aviv.

Passengers heard shouting and screaming before Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayun rushed toward the cockpit.

The door remained locked until the badly wounded captain, Smit Machchhar, managed to release it despite suffering heavy blood loss.

“The Israeli passenger burst in, saw the attacking co-pilot hover over the instruments,” Netanyahu said. “He wasn’t sitting in one of the two pilot seats, but he was trying to jam the instruments.”

Hayun pulled the suspected attacker away and then grabbed the aircraft’s controls as the plane plunged.

“The Israeli passenger, Yaniv, took him back, threw him back, took the controls, the stick, and pulled it back,” Netanyahu said.

Other passengers and a crew member restrained the attacker while two additional Flydubai pilots who had been traveling in the passenger cabin entered the cockpit.

“And then the reserve pilots who were in the passenger area came in, stabilized the airplane,” Netanyahu said. “It was difficult, because it was in a nosedive.”

“It was just dropping, nose down. And they managed to stabilize the plane. It had a rudder damaged, and the tail was damaged, but they somehow managed to do it.”

The aircraft ultimately landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. All 174 people aboard survived.

Netanyahu credited a combination of actions by the wounded captain, the passengers who entered the cockpit and the additional pilots with preventing mass casualties.

“The amazing heroism here of the Indian pilot, the Israeli passenger and his colleagues, and those pilots managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster, because that’s what it looks like was happening,” Netanyahu said.

The prime minister cautioned, however, that the precise motive remains under investigation.

Asked whether Israel had received intelligence specifically warning that an attack of this kind was being prepared, Netanyahu replied, “No, not specifically.”

“What we had is a lot of information streaming in that Iran’s proxies in particular, Hezbollah and Hamas, were planning attacks against Israel and Israeli civilians abroad,” he said.

“But I can’t tell you that we had any specific warning about this.”

The suspected attacker, identified by Israeli officials as an Omani national, was detained in Saudi Arabia following the emergency landing.

Netanyahu said he had spoken with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and that the Emirati leader agreed to allow Israel to participate in questioning the suspect.

“I spoke to the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, and he agreed that Israel would join the interrogation,” Netanyahu said.

“So we’ll find out very soon if Iran had anything to do with it, but I can’t say that in advance of the conclusion of the interrogation.”

In a separate interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said Israel is probing whether Iran was involved in the planned attack, but emphasized that it is still “too early to say.”

“It’s no secret that Iran wants to target Israelis abroad, wants to target Israel here,” Netanyahu said.

Israel has “clear evidence” that Iranian proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah are planning attacks on Israeli targets ahead of this month’s Knesset election, Netanyahu added.

“But I think that whether or not this was carried out as part of that plan, that we don’t know yet.”

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