Trump claims co-pilot was unstable and stabbed pilot

US President Donald Trump has shared an unverified account of an incident aboard a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight that diverted to Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the co-pilot was either a terrorist or mentally unstable and allegedly attacked the pilot with a knife.

Trump cites Netanyahu’s account

Trump said he had spoken at length with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the incident. According to Trump’s account of that conversation, Netanyahu said an Israeli passenger heard screams coming from the cockpit and stepped in to help after the alleged attack.

Trump described the passenger as an Israeli plumber who had never flown an aircraft before. He claimed the passenger took control of the aircraft’s controls and pulled the plane upward before managing to stabilize it and prevent a crash.

Trump acknowledges uncertainty

Trump also said Netanyahu had told him that the passenger learned what to do during an emergency from a television program. However, the US president explicitly qualified his account, saying that the story was what he had heard and that he did not know whether it was true.

Flight diverts to Saudi Arabia

The aircraft was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when it made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, according to Trump’s remarks. Details surrounding the incident, including the circumstances of the alleged cockpit confrontation and the actions of those aboard the aircraft, were not independently established in the information provided.