Netanyahu: The Flydubai pilot was stabbed or beaten with an ax during a flight heading to Tel Aviv

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that pilot Smit Machhar was “stabbed or beaten with an ax” by the co-pilot who allegedly attacked him during a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

Netanyahu said in an interview with CBS: “While the plane was approaching Israel, one of the co-pilots stabbed the other pilot - an Indian pilot - or hit him with an axe. The injured pilot - who was bleeding profusely and struggling for his life - was able to open the cockpit door.”

His statements come at a time when the nature of the weapon used by the co-pilot to carry out the attack is still not completely clear, as some reports indicated that the alleged attacker may have used the ax designated for emergency situations and located inside the plane’s cockpit.

In a related context, an Israeli official told CNN that the pilot accused of carrying out the attack inside the cockpit of a Fly Dubai flight on Wednesday had been working for the airline for only 8 months.

The official did not reveal the identity of the accused pilot.

The passengers arrived safely in Israel on an alternative Flydubai flight, after one of the pilots - according to reports - stabbed his colleague in the cockpit, causing the plane to descend sharply and suddenly for thousands of feet.

Passenger Asaf Rajwan said that a group of passengers and crew were able to quickly “control” the person who attacked the Indian pilot on board the plane, which then made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the alleged hijacking attempt, while two American officials reported that 4 American citizens - who also hold Israeli citizenship - were among the passengers on the flight.