The Trump administration sought to reassure Americans after a Tel Aviv-bound flight turned into a midair struggle, with passengers allegedly battling a co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain and one Israeli official comparing the episode to an attempt to “do 9/11.”
At a midterms election-integrity press conference, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the Transportation Security Administration was already operating under the kind of vigilance used for aviation emergencies, even as officials sorted through early reports from overseas.
“This is an ongoing investigation. We were having conflicting reports this morning, still coming in. That’s what happens in a situation like this, especially so far away. I know the question may come up: is TSA taking a different posture at this? TSA, we’re always at high alert,” Mullin stated.
“We take every incident like this very serious, and we continue to look at the procedures that we have in place and continue to make sure the American people are safe.”
The flight at issue, FZ1073, was carrying 174 people from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport, with four U.S. citizens among them.
Mullin said nothing tied to the case had produced a known danger to the United States.
“We have no credible threats to us right now,” Mullin continued.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said U.S. officials were in contact with counterparts in Israel and other countries while investigators continued examining what happened before the aircraft landed in Saudi Arabia.
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“It just happened. It’s very active. There’s active investigations going on in Israel and elsewhere. We’re coordinating very closely with our counterparts overseas. We’ll continue to do so,” Blanche noted.
“We have a great relationship with Israel, and we’ve been coordinating with them since this happened, and we’ll continue to do so.”
Israeli officials have identified the suspected attacker as an Omani co-pilot, accusing him of stabbing the captain and trying to take command during Wednesday’s Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as “an attempted jihadist terrorist attack.”
The fight for the aircraft moved from the cockpit to the cabin as travelers and crew members allegedly rushed in, subdued the suspected attacker and helped regain enough control for the plane to come down safely.
One Israeli passenger later described the moment as a takeover by the people onboard.
“About the Dubai flight, we took control of the flight,” the passenger said. “Here, there was an incident with a crazy with a knife that stabbed one of the pilots. We just jumped in, and yeah, we got him.”
Israeli officials said the aircraft dropped more than 17,000 feet before the people onboard stopped the danger.
The scare also triggered Israel’s military response, with fighter jets sent into the air when authorities feared the aircraft had been seized.
As the plane lost contact and moved away from Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz convened an emergency security consultation. Everyone onboard was still alive when the aircraft reached the ground.
President Donald Trump, speaking from the Oval Office earlier Wednesday, described the alleged attack as an “incredible story” and questioned whether the co-pilot was “perhaps a terrorist” or “perhaps a whack job.”
🚨 WOW! President Trump claims a PLUMBER intervened and prevented 100+ deaths during the AirDubai hijacking earlier today, and grabbed the stick to LEVEL OFF the plane
Why, you ask? Because the man was a fan of "AIR DISASTERS," a show that documents plane crashes
TRUMP: "I… pic.twitter.com/4HiwWDpAzz
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 30, 2026
“It seems as though the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist, or perhaps a whack job. And he stabbed the pilot. The pilot was in very bad shape. I guess he still is in very bad shape,” Trump remarked.
In Trump’s account, the wounded captain made the crucial move that allowed passengers to reach the suspected attacker by getting the cockpit door open.
“He had the sense to, amazing. In a way, he was a hero, to open the door. You know, those doors are solid steel; you can’t get them open from outside. He was able to fall back and get the door open and scream…”
Trump also recounted what Netanyahu told him by phone about an Israeli passenger reaching the controls while the plane was dropping.
“He ripped the G forces as they were… he ripped this guy out of the seat, threw him back. The crowd got him. The passengers got him, grabbed him,” Trump said. “And having never flown a plane, he took the stick, lifted it up and leveled out the plane before it crashed.”
Netanyahu later questioned Yaniv Hion, identified as a flight instructor, about the seconds inside the cockpit and how the suspected attacker was removed from the controls.
“When I got inside, I saw the attacker on the controls, between the two seats. There were no pilots in the seats. One was down, and the attacker was on the controls. Another person came in with me. I grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and first of all pulled him out,” Hion recalled.
“What was he doing with the controls? What was he doing?” Netanyahu asked.
“He was trying to destroy the controls in order to disable the plane. That’s what I saw,” Hion said of the co-pilot.
Hion said he called for other Israelis on the flight to help hold the suspected attacker while he returned to the controls and pulled back as the nose of the plane pointed downward.
“We pulled him out. It all happened within seconds. The plane’s nose was down like this,” he explained, gesturing toward the floor. “I called out to the other Israelis who were with us on the plane. They came over, two more guys jumped in to help me, and I told them to hold him down. Then I jumped back in, grabbed the controls and started pulling back on them.”
The New York Times was pulled into the political fight after its social media post described the diverted Dubai-to-Israel flight as involving “an altercation between the pilot and co-pilot.”
“Breaking news: A plane flying from Dubai to Israel was diverted after an altercation between the pilot and co-pilot, Israeli officials said,” the Times post read.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) attacked that wording as minimizing what Israeli officials had described.
“An altercation”???
Why does the @nytimes act as a propagandist for terrorists? pic.twitter.com/rVUTDRBhK6
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 30, 2026
“‘An altercation’??? Why does the @nytimes act as a propagandist for terrorists?” Cruz tweeted.
New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov also accused the outlet of downplaying the incident.
“Just a little scuffle between two guys, ya know. Nothing to see here. Shame on you, @nytimes!” Vernikov responded.
The Times answered the criticism about five hours later by saying it was publishing only what it had verified.
“Our headlines and live coverage contain all the facts we’re able to confirm as we confirm them,” the statement said. “Unlike activists and partisans, we don’t publish speculation or unverified information.”
