Trump on attempted Flydubai terror attack: Copilot was perhaps a terrorist or whack-job

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he spoke "at length" with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attempted terror attack on a Flydubai flight that was making its way to Israel.

“It seems as though the copilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack-job," Trump told reporters.

He praised the passenger who tackled the terrorist. “An Israeli plumber saw what was happening. And he saw what was going on and he heard the screaming. The plane was going sharply down at an unbelievable angle, so sharp that the rudder ripped off the back of the plane. The plane wasn't designed to go at a speed anywhere near that."

“And he ripped this guy out of the seat, threw him back, the crowd got him, the passengers got him, grabbed him. And having never flown a plane, he took the stick, lifted it up, and leveled out the plane before it crashed," Trump said of the passenger.

“Now this is the story that I heard, I don't know if it's true, but that's the story that I got. I think it's amazing," he added.

Netanyahu earlier on Wednesday welcomed the Israeli passengers who were on board the Flydubai flight. Among the passengers whom the Prime Minister met was Yaniv, one of the Israelis who jumped on the would-be hijacker and subdued him.

After Netanyahu asked, Yaniv recounted the chain of events: "Someone screamed, and the lights went out. Someone wearing a white shirt stood by the door. Together, we pushed the door. The pilot who was stabbed was at the door, but he apparently managed to open it before collapsing. When I went in, I saw the terrorist on the devices between the two chairs."

"I grabbed the terrorist, choked him, and pulled him away from there. He tried to ruin the devices to neutralize the plane, which had its nose pointing down. I called another two guys who helped me grab him. I began to pull the steering wheel up, and I stopped the plane from diving."

Yaniv revealed that he learned to control the plane from the documentary series "Mayday." He added that at that point, the alternate pilot came and took charge.