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It is too early to say if Iran had any involvement in an attack by a pilot who stabbed another pilot and tried to take over a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Israel’s prime minister has said.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Flydubai plane plunged more than 17,000ft (5,200m) two hours into its journey on Wednesday, before passengers and crew overpowered the attacker and retook control to land safely.<\/p>\n
The stabbed pilot, Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, is in hospital in a stable condition, and has been hailed a “true hero” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. <\/p>\n
One passenger, Yaniv Hayun, described how he put the attacker, who was trying to disable the plane, in a chokehold before other passengers helped pin him down.<\/p>\n
The alleged attacker, who was arrested in Saudi Arabia, is expected to be transferred to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the plane took off from, Netanyahu told Fox News.<\/p>\n
Asked whether there was any indication as of now of Iran’s involvement, he replied: “It’s too early to say”. He added that the pilot was “now being investigated in Saudi Arabia”.<\/p>\n
The UAE’s chief prosecutor said on Thursday an investigation had been launched into the incident, including if there was any link to “terrorist” activity. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, he and India’s leader Narendra Modi called stabbed pilot Machchhar a “hero”<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker – preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster,” Netanyahu wrote on X.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n