US President Trump Praises Indian Captain Smit Kakkar for Foiling Dubai Flight Attack

Washington DC. US President Donald Trump has praised Indian Captain Smit Kakkar for showing courage to save the plane from a potential crash after an attack on a co-pilot during a Flydubai flight. He said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the incident, commenting that the attacker could be a potential terrorist or an abnormal person. The Flydubai FZ 1073 flight had dropped thousands of feet after the co-pilot attacked Captain Kakkar with a knife inside the cockpit. Subsequently, passengers and crew members intervened and controlled the attacker, after which the plane was safely landed in Saudi Arabia. Trump said that despite being seriously injured, Captain Kakkar managed to open the cockpit door, and passengers played an important role in controlling the attacker. An Israeli passenger, despite having no flying experience, reached the cockpit and helped remove the attacker from the pilot's seat. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called passenger Yaniv Haim a 'true hero' and praised his courage. Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the joint effort of the captain, passengers, and crew members was crucial in saving the lives of 174 people on board. The Indian Embassy in Israel and Israel's Ambassador to India, Ruven Azar, praised Captain Kakkar's courage, composure, and dedication to duty, wishing him a speedy recovery. India's Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, also said that the efforts of him and other passengers helped avert a potential major accident. Captain Kakkar is said to have more than 13 years of commercial aviation experience and approximately 9,750 hours of flight experience on the Boeing-737 aircraft. He worked for Indian Airlines for 11 years before joining Flydubai. Flydubai has announced that it will temporarily suspend flights to and from Israel as the incident is under investigation.