Trump says Iran may be linked to FlyDubai copilot who tried to crash Israel-bound jet

President Donald Trump said Iran may be linked to a FlyDubai copilot who tried to crash an Israel-bound plane as investigators examined why the copilot stabbed the captain and caused the jet to plummet before it was landed in Saudi Arabia. The plane was carrying 174 people, mostly Israelis, from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv. Trump said the United States was working on the issue and warned that Tehran would be hit very hard if it was behind the attack.

Passengers described how the bloodied Indian captain opened the cockpit door so they could enter and help subdue the copilot, stabilizing the aircraft after the descent turned severe.

A regional official said the suspect was an Omani citizen under arrest and that Saudi authorities were working with Israel, the UAE, the United States and Oman to determine the motive.

The cockpit sent two distress codes, 7700 and 7500, while the plane flew erratically near the Jordanian border with Saudi Arabia.

FlyDubai said its flights to and from Israel would be suspended while the investigation continued, and Netanyahu said Israel planned to fly home anyone stranded in Dubai.

Published Oct 2, 2026 3:20 am KST

U.S. President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One as he departs for Denton, Texas, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., Thursday. Reuters-Yonhap

JERUSALEM — President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran may be linked to the FlyDubai copilot who tried to crash an Israel-bound plane as investigators worked to determine why the copilot stabbed the flight's captain, causing the plane to plummet before others on board landed it in Saudi Arabia.

Trump was asked by reporters at the White House whether he had been briefed about any links between the pilot behind the attack and Tehran. He said, “We’re working on it right now.”

“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” Trump said. He did not offer details.

Asked if the U.S. would retaliate against Tehran if it was behind the attack, Trump said, “Oh they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry.”

“You just ask them,” he added. “They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.”

Passengers got into cockpit to take control of jet

Passengers on the FlyDubai plane — which was carrying 174 people, mostly Israelis, from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv — have described how the bloodied Indian captain managed to open the cockpit door to let them in before they grappled with the copilot and stabilized 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,” Asaf Rajuan, who was among those who intervened, said in a statement shared by Israel’s presidency.

A regional official briefed on the investigation said the suspect, an Omani citizen, was under arrest and confirmed that Saudi authorities were working with countries, including Israel, to try to determine a motive. He said the UAE, the United States and Oman also were involved.

“All possible scenarios, from terrorism to mental disorders, are being looked into. Nothing is ruled out for now,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing probe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without giving details, claimed the attacker underwent Islamist indoctrination. Asked who helped radicalize him, the prime minister told Fox News channel’s “Fox and Friends" he did not know.

When asked by The Associated Press how the prime minister knew the copilot underwent indoctrination, Netanyahu’s office said it would not comment.

Netanyahu told Fox that the suspect apparently got through a loophole in Israeli aviation rules that normally bar pilots from flying to Israel if they are from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, which Oman does not.

The copilot has not been publicly identified. Video shot inside the plane by Dr. Shota Musayev, a dentist who treated the captain, shows the copilot on his knees, with his hands tied behind his back.

Capt. Smit Machchhar, widely praised as one of the heroes of the flight, was recovering in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi, the Indian government said Thursday.

It was not clear what the copilot used as a weapon.

Israeli investigators will join the interrogation of the copilot

Israeli intelligence and security officials were in Saudi Arabia to help investigate the copilot, according to another regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Israel has requested that the copilot be sent to Israel for the investigation, though it is unclear if that request will be granted, the official said.

Saudi Arabia does not have formal diplomatic ties with Israel, but the countries have long cooperated on security and intelligence matters through alternative channels.

The UAE government said its own investigation team had begun looking into the attack and “whether it was linked to any terrorist purpose,” noting that Emirati authorities have jurisdiction because the plane is registered there and UAE law applies to crimes committed on board.

Asked if there is any indication of Iranian involvement, Netanyahu told Fox News “it’s too early to say.”

Netanyahu earlier said he also spoke with the UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who agreed that Israel would join the interrogation of the suspect.

Trump told reporters at the White House that he and Netanyahu discussed the incident “at length” by phone and it seemed as though the copilot “was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job.”

Oman's government has not commented.

Israel says it received no specific warning of an attack

Netanyahu had warned in recent days of heightened security threats, though he told CNN that Israel had received no specific warning. The country is a week away from the anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which has triggered the war in Gaza — and weeks away from an election.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said most of the people on board were from Israel, along with others from India and the UAE. The U.S. State Department said four passengers had American citizenship.

FlyDubai has said its flights to and from Israel would be suspended. Netanyahu told CBS that Israel plans to fly home anyone stranded in Dubai as a result.

Someone in cockpit sent out discreet distress codes

Someone in the cockpit sent out two four-digit codes to discreetly signal distress while the plane flew erratically near the Jordanian border with Saudi Arabia, according to Flightradar24.com . The first code was “7700,” the universal “squawk” signal for an emergency, then “7500,” which indicates unlawful interference, including a possible hijacking.

The codes are used by pilots when speaking over the radio may not be possible or wise.

FlyDubai said Wednesday that the jet was secured by on-duty crew members “who diverted and landed the aircraft safely.” A regional official said the crew members were pilots in training. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

School where captain trained calls safe landing ‘miraculous’

In the chaos that began about two and a half hours after takeoff, the flight descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet (around 10,000 meters to 5,100 meters) in about a minute, before making an erratic circle close to the Jordanian border and landing in Tabuk, according to Flightradar24. The site identified the aircraft as a Boeing 737 Max 8.

FlyDubai said crew members helped secure the plane but released no details about them.

The head of the New Zealand flight school where the Indian captain trained, Philip Kean, called it “miraculous" that the aircraft, which was never designed for that sort of dive, did not break up completely.

During the frantic search for a place to land, a person who heard the flight’s communications with air traffic control described the plane being turned away by Saudi Arabia and Jordan before eventually landing in Tabuk in Saudi Arabia while passengers screamed in the background. The pilot’s voice was trembling as he called “mayday” and said a hijacking was taking place.

The air traffic controllers gave no reason for the refusals. The person who heard the communications spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普表示，伊朗可能与迪拜航空一名试图撞毁一架飞往以色列的客机的副驾驶有关。调查人员正在调查这名副驾驶为何刺伤机长，导致飞机坠毁，最终在沙特阿拉伯降落。这架载有174人的飞机，大部分是以色列人，从阿联酋飞往特拉维夫。特朗普表示，美国正在调查此事，并警告说，如果伊朗是此次袭击的幕后黑手，将会受到严厉打击。

乘客们描述了浑身是血的印度机长如何打开驾驶舱门，让他们进入并帮助制服副驾驶，在飞机急剧下降后稳定了飞机。

一位地区官员表示，嫌疑人是已被逮捕的阿曼公民，沙特当局正在与以色列、阿联酋、美国和阿曼合作，以确定其作案动机。

飞机在约旦与沙特阿拉伯边境附近飞行时，驾驶舱发出了两个遇险代码，分别为 7700 和 7500，飞行轨迹异常。

迪拜航空表示，在调查继续进行期间，往返以色列的航班将暂停运营。内塔尼亚胡表示，以色列计划安排滞留在迪拜的任何人回国。

发布于2026年10月2日凌晨3:20（韩国标准时间）

周四，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在华盛顿白宫南草坪登上“海军陆战队一号”直升机，启程前往德克萨斯州丹顿。路透社-韩联社

耶路撒冷——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周四表示，伊朗可能与迪拜航空副驾驶员有关，该副驾驶员试图撞毁一架飞往以色列的飞机。与此同时，调查人员正在努力查明该副驾驶员为何刺伤机长，导致飞机坠毁，最终由机上其他人员将其迫降在沙特阿拉伯。

白宫记者问特朗普，他是否听取过有关发动袭击的飞行员与德黑兰之间是否存在联系的简报。他回答说：“我们正在调查此事。”

“根据我目前了解到的情况，答案是肯定的，但我们正在努力，”特朗普说。他没有提供更多细节。

当被问及如果德黑兰是此次袭击的幕后黑手，美国是否会对其进行报复时，特朗普说：“哦，他们会受到重创，别担心。”

“你去问问他们，”他补充道，“他们知道发生了什么。他们会受到很沉重的打击。”

乘客们进入驾驶舱，接管了喷气式飞机的控制权。

载有 174 名乘客（其中大部分是以色列人）的迪拜航空飞机从阿拉伯联合酋长国飞往特拉维夫，机上的乘客描述了浑身是血的印度籍机长如何设法打开驾驶舱门让他们进去，然后他们与副驾驶搏斗，并稳定了飞机，避免了飞机急剧下降，以至于飞机的方向舵都被扯掉了。

“我们感到无助，悬在半空中，我不知道该向谁求助。但这一切都是求生的本能，”参与救援的阿萨夫·拉胡安在以色列总统府发布的一份声明中说道。

一位了解调查情况的地区官员表示，嫌疑人是一名阿曼公民，已被逮捕。他证实，沙特当局正与包括以色列在内的多个国家合作，试图查明其作案动机。他还表示，阿联酋、美国和阿曼也参与了调查。

“从恐怖主义到精神疾病，所有可能的情况都在调查之中。目前没有任何可能性被排除，”这位官员说道。由于未获授权讨论正在进行的调查，他要求匿名。

以色列总理内塔尼亚胡未透露详情，声称袭击者曾接受过伊斯兰主义思想灌输。当被问及是谁帮助他走向极端化时，内塔尼亚胡在接受福克斯新闻频道“福克斯与朋友们”节目采访时表示，他并不知情。

当美联社询问总理是如何得知副驾驶接受过洗脑时，内塔尼亚胡办公室表示不予置评。

内塔尼亚胡告诉福克斯新闻，嫌疑人显然钻了以色列航空规则的一个漏洞，该规则通常禁止来自与以色列没有外交关系的国家的飞行员飞往以色列，而阿曼与以色列没有外交关系。

副驾驶的身份尚未公开。为机长治疗的牙医肖塔·穆萨耶夫博士在飞机内拍摄的视频显示，副驾驶跪在地上，双手被反绑在背后。

印度政府周四表示，被广泛誉为此次航班英雄之一的史密特·马赫查尔上尉正在阿联酋首都阿布扎比接受治疗。

目前尚不清楚副驾驶使用的是什么武器。

以色列调查人员将参与对副驾驶的审讯。

据另一位不愿透露姓名的地区官员称，以色列情报和安全官员当时在沙特阿拉伯，协助调查副驾驶事件。这位官员表示，他没有被授权接受媒体采访。

这位官员表示，以色列已要求将副驾驶送回以色列接受调查，但目前尚不清楚这一要求是否会被批准。

沙特阿拉伯与以色列没有正式外交关系，但两国长期以来通过其他渠道在安全和情报事务方面开展合作。

阿联酋政府表示，其自己的调查小组已开始调查此次袭击事件以及“是否与任何恐怖主义目的有关”，并指出阿联酋当局拥有管辖权，因为飞机在阿联酋注册，而且阿联酋法律适用于机上发生的犯罪行为。

当被问及是否有任何迹象表明伊朗参与其中时，内塔尼亚胡告诉福克斯新闻，“现在下结论还为时过早”。

内塔尼亚胡早些时候表示，他还与阿联酋总统谢赫·穆罕默德·本·扎耶德·阿勒纳哈扬进行了交谈，后者同意以色列将参与对嫌疑人的审讯。

特朗普在白宫告诉记者，他和内塔尼亚胡通过电话“详细”讨论了这起事件，副驾驶“可能是一名恐怖分子，或者可能是一个疯子”。

阿曼政府尚未对此发表评论。

以色列方面表示，他们没有收到任何关于袭击的具体警告。

内塔尼亚胡近日曾警告安全威胁加剧，但他告诉CNN，以色列并未收到任何具体警告。距离哈马斯领导的2023年10月7日袭击以色列事件周年纪念日还有一周，该袭击事件引发了加沙战争；距离以色列大选也仅剩几周时间。

以色列外交部表示，机上乘客大多来自以色列，另有一些来自印度和阿联酋。美国国务院称，其中四名乘客拥有美国国籍。

迪拜航空已宣布暂停往返以色列的航班。内塔尼亚胡告诉哥伦比亚广播公司，以色列计划安排所有因此滞留在迪拜的人员回国。

驾驶舱内有人发出了隐蔽的遇险信号。

据Flightradar24.com报道，飞机在约旦与沙特阿拉伯边境附近飞行时出现异常，驾驶舱内有人发出了两个四位数的遇险代码。第一个代码是“7700”，这是通用的紧急情况“应答机”信号；第二个代码是“7500”，表示遭到非法干扰，包括可能的劫机。

当无法或不宜通过无线电通话时，飞行员会使用这些代码。

迪拜航空周三表示，值班机组人员控制住了这架飞机，“他们改变航线并安全着陆”。一位地区官员称，这些机组人员是正在接受培训的飞行员。这位官员要求匿名，因为他没有被授权接受媒体采访。

机长接受训练的学校称安全着陆是“奇迹”。

据Flightradar24网站报道，起飞约两个半小时后，飞机开始出现混乱，在一分钟左右的时间里，高度从33000英尺（约10000米）下降到17000英尺（约5100米），然后在约旦边境附近盘旋了一圈，最终降落在塔布克。该网站确认这架飞机是一架波音737 Max 8型客机。

迪拜航空表示，机组人员协助控制了飞机，但没有透露有关机组人员的任何细节。

印度机长接受训练的新西兰飞行学校校长菲利普·基恩称，这架从未被设计用于那种俯冲的飞机没有完全解体，简直是个“奇迹”。

在飞机焦急寻找降落地点的过程中，一位听到飞机与空中交通管制通话的人描述说，飞机先后被沙特阿拉伯和约旦拒绝降落，最终在沙特阿拉伯的塔布克降落，背景中乘客发出尖叫声。飞行员的声音颤抖着发出“遇险呼救”，并表示飞机遭到劫持。

空中交通管制员没有给出拒绝的理由。听到通话内容的人士要求匿名，因为他/她没有被授权接受媒体采访。