“Kill me,” failed flight hijacker reportedly said as subdued

Men who stopped an attack on a flight from Dubai told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting at his office that the assailant was saying “Kill me” while he was tied up. The interveners understood the attacker’s words as a realization that a planned attack or mission had failed, Netanhau said.  On Wednesday morning, a pilot on the passenger flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv stabbed the plane’s other pilot, Capt. Smit Machchhar, and attempted to crash the aircraft, authorities said. But no one died as the plane landed safely in northeastern Saudi Arabia.

The prime minister wrote on social media about a meeting with Yaniv Hayun, Or Pardilov, Dr. Shota Musayev, and his wife Sigalit, saying that the entire world saw their heroism. One of the men said they tied the attacker with the headphone cable. Netanyahu then urged the citizens of Israel to learn from the heroes, keep their eyes open, and be vigilant. He added that it is a very sensitive time in which enemies seek to harm the country.

Who is the attacker? The suspect was not named by authorities by Thursday afternoon. In an interview with CBS on Thursday, Netanyahu said the pilot is being questioned in Saudi Arabia, but will be brought to Dubai, where Israeli officials will join the investigation into the incident. He also confirmed that the attacker is a citizen of Oman.

In a separate interview with Fox News the same day, Netanyahu said investigators believe the attacker underwent radical Islamist indoctrination. He added that they will get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it.