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Israel: Co-Pilot Stabbed Captain in Hijacking Attempt; California Gubernatorial Candidates Face Off in Debate; Hegseth Cutting 20% of Military Leadership Amid War. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired October 01, 2026 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, on CNN THIS MORNING, the fight to survive at 34,000 feet. Passengers prevent disaster after the copilot stabbed the pilot. What we're learning about the alleged attacker.

Plus, Pete Hegseth says, quote, "The clowns are out and the cowboys are in" at the Pentagon. What could more leadership cuts mean for America's troops?

And later today, the president is supposed to stand next to the Senate candidate who privately said Trump's midterm convention hurt the party. Awkward.

And California's Gavin Newsom reveals he's been getting advice from former President Bill Clinton. So, how will that shape a possible run for president in 2028?

Good morning, everyone. I'm Audie Cornish. And here's where we begin. New detail about the remarkable story of survival in the skies after a copilot allegedly stabbed the pilot, sending the plane into a nosedive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SCREAMING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Those were just some of the more terrifying moments on board, as passengers on the flight to Israel tried to figure out what was happening.

So, this FlyDubai flight plunged more than 17,000 feet in less than two minutes, at one point approaching the speed of sound.

Now, the pilot, who was attacked, somehow managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to storm the cockpit, subdue the attacker, and take back the plane.

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YANIV HAYOUN, FLYDUBAI PASSENGER (through translator): When I got inside, I saw the attacker on the instrument panel between the two seats.

There were no pilots in the seats. One was on the floor. One was on the instruments. And someone else had come in with me. I grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and dragged him out first. It all happened in seconds, and the plane's nose was pitched like this.

I called out to a bunch of Israelis on board, and two other guys came over. We pinned him down. I jumped back, grabbed the controls, and started pulling back the handles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now to discuss is Alex Plitsas, CNN national security analyst.

And Alex, that passenger went on to tell the prime minister that the reason he knew what to do was from watching television series about air disasters.

Can you talk about what you were thinking as you were hearing him describe how they took back the plane?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: No. This is nothing short of a miracle. I mean, what -- what transpired on that aircraft and what the passengers did, the sequence of events. I mean, they had to get everything right to -- to basically make sure everybody survived. And somehow, they figured it out as laypersons with no real training.

So, there are a couple of things that really stood out here. So, first of all, without getting into the motive and exactly what happened, just as you mentioned, the plane is now pitched, headed down. It was done on purpose by the copilot after stabbing the pilot.

Normally, the cockpit door is closed from the inside. A post-9/11 security measure. The captain somehow had the wherewithal to turn on the transponder and transmit that there was an aircraft emergency.

And then the -- (AUDIO GAP) -- and simultaneously unlocked the door to let people in while he was being stabbed.

Then you had these passengers come in, subdue the attacker, who was armed while they're unarmed, and then a civilian, from watching a documentary, pulls up on the yoke and levels the aircraft and brings in an extra pilot who happened to be on the aircraft.

I mean, the amount of sheer luck and tenacity and courage from the folks on board is almost impossible to describe. This is nothing short of a miracle.

CORNISH: You know, I had just described to my kids what happened on 9/11, and their first question is, could this happen again? Can you talk about what we're looking at here based on what we're hearing from the Israeli government or FlyDubai?

PLITSAS; Sure, sure. Absolutely.

So, what we're looking at here is one of the, you know, people say, are there security failures? A lot of the post-9/11 security measures that were adopted were meant to prevent an external threat, loading bombs or things onto an aircraft, you know, preventing a threat from amongst the passenger base from getting access to cockpit.

Never anticipated that it would be, you know, a pilot or a copilot that would be the threat. So, in terms of that. And if there wasn't obvious signs from the copilot that he was in distress, it may not have been caught.

And so far, there hasn't been either a manifesto released, a claim of responsibility from a terrorist group, or sort of a state sponsor.

And so, when we talk about terrorism, terrorism -- terrorism is politically motivated violence against civilians. So, if there is no claim of what your political cause is you're committing the violence on behalf of, it doesn't really work.

So, what if you put all those pieces together? We still don't know for sure the motives out, but this will be investigated as an act of terrorism, likely with a running theory that this is a lone wolf that's been radicalized unless evidence surfaces of a state sponsor or terrorist organization's involvement.

CORNISH: Lastly, what does this mean for FlyDubai? I mean, are you going now and talking to every single pilot in the fleet? Like, help us understand, like, how you would even assess any further danger?

PLITSAS: Sure. Well, in some cases, it's hard to predict, right? Like this -- this copilot wasn't caught. So, if there -- if there is no outward signs, if there's no mental health issues, if there's no signs of radicalization, this can become difficult.

But yes, you'll go back to the personnel records. You'll probably review who else is there.

There's only two airlines that fly Israelis in the Middle East out of some of these Abraham countries, Abraham Accords countries like -- like Dubai, which has a good safety record.

You know, we did see, you know, there was one murder of an Israeli citizen who happened to live in UAE through the course of the war. Now, we've seen this hijacking. So, there is -- or attempted hijacking, it is.

So, there are some security incidents that have -- that have risen as a result of responses to ongoing geopolitical events like the war in Gaza or in Iran.

They can do the best they can, but to a certain extent, you know, if they're -- if they're hiding it, you don't see those outward signs. It can be difficult to find. CORNISH: And again, right now, we're still unclear on what, if any,

motive. There were, as you mentioned, haven't seen any manifesto-type materials or statements.

So, Alex, thanks for that detail. I'm sure we'll hear from you soon.

Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, we're digging deeper into this suspected hijacking attempt. I'm going to speak with a former Israeli intelligence official about how the investigation will move forward.

Plus, the candidates for the California governor's race clash in a CNN debate, they sparred over policy differences and traded a few personal jabs.

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STEVE HILTON (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: But first of all, I just want to say thank you to CNN for bringing Xavier out of hiding. He's barely been seen in public since the primary four months ago.

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CORNISH: So, the candidates for California governor faced off in a CNN debate just over a month before. Voters will determine who will lead the nation's most populous state.

So, you've got Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton trading barbs, trading personal jabs and sparring over policy differences on affordability, A.I., and immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XAVIER BECERRA (D), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: What I wouldn't do, Steve, is try to convince the people of California that proposing Trump tax policies, promising Trump tax cuts, believing you're going to get better results than Trump has gotten so far to date, that that is what. Isn't it the definition of insanity? You do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. You're using Trump's --

HILTON: Like you're using Democrats.

BECERRA: -- promises. You expect different results. You're going to end up with Trump results, if you follow Steve Hilton's plans.

HILTON: If you're having Xavier Becerra and you're the candidate who is supported by the machine in Sacramento, the unions, big business, all these people that for 16 years have given us the highest cost of living in the country, made it impossible to build anything, given us the highest unemployment rate, the highest poverty rate, then we're not going to get the jobs in this state that we so desperately need.

And that's why we've got to try something different this time, instead of voting for more of the same and expecting a different result.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, we've got Jasmine Wright, White House correspondent for "The Washington Sun"; Mike Dubke, former communications director for the Trump White House; and former director of message planning in the Biden White House, Meghan Hays.

I want to start with you, Jasmine, because this is a race that in the primaries was taking wild turns, right? There was the Swalwell controversy. People thought a person like Katie Porter was going to be at the forefront. In the end, it's Becerra. And what -- how is he faring heading into the final stretch?

JASMINE WRIGHT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "THE WASHINGTON SUN": I mean, I think if you ask most people, they wouldn't know because now in the general, it's kind of been quiet.

I think when you watch that debate, two things stand out.

One, he didn't make any drastic mistakes. Obviously, he's up about 18 points according to a multitude of different surveys. And so, the one thing that I'm sure that his advisers say were don't make a major gaffe. He didn't.

And I think you could see in some of the clips, and if you watch the whole thing, just the amount of prep that he went into. He had some canned lines, but some of them were actually zingers.

Look, I think that California is a state in which they may have differences in the primary, but when it comes to the general, when it comes to a Republican and a Democrat, even though their system is a bit different, typically, people expect it to go Democrat.

CORNISH: They do. Which is not to say that there's -- obviously, there have been, in California, Republican governors. That's the thing.

WRIGHT: Some with an accent.

CORNISH: Exactly. But Trump's approval [SIC] rating in California right now is 76 percent. And I hear Becerra just saying, look, it's another Trump type guy. And if you like those policies, vote for him. But if you don't, now is the time not to.

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE: It's a line that Democrats across the country are using.

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CORNISH: Meghan.

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING FOR BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: I mean, look, my mom was in California. I said, mom, are you going to watch the debate? She said, what debate?

So, I'm quite certain that most people --

CORNISH: Know them well.

HAYS: -- are not paying attention to this.

DUBKE: No, not at all.

HAYS: Because it's already been a done deal. But I do think one thing I think that was interesting that Steve Hilton said is That Democrats have the support of the machine, including big businesses and unions.

Unions, isn't that what people want? Don't they want people to be working with businesses? That's what Trump is doing. Don't you want the working class?

So, I'm a little confused how that is an attack on Becerra.

CORNISH: I'm interested in Hilton, because he reflects arguments we often hear on what I'll call the tech right. The people who own those businesses, the people who will say, we're going to leave, and we're going to take our businesses with us because it's cheaper to be in Texas, blah, blah, blah.

And seeing them having a candidate like this is a proxy for their ascendance, I think in politics. Like, the fact that he's as close as he is at 38 percent.

WRIGHT: Right? I mean, it's -- it's a -- it's a proof that money does work in the state of California, even if the politics are not inherently on your side.

You have so many tech bros in Silicon Valley who are pouring money into this. The Google founder pouring money into defeating the billionaire tax that will be on the ballot come November. And so, there's so many different forces in California.

But the fact is, is that is this the election that it's going to go to Republicans right now, when the -- when the White House has such disapproval numbers, when the feeling is against the Republican elite and those who are in power?

HAYS: This is where candidate selection matters. Steve Hilton is not a good candidate for Republicans. A Republican could win in California.

I worked for Gray Davis. We got recalled by Arnold -- Arnold Schwarzenegger won. So, it's not unheard of that there are Republicans there. This is where candidate selection matters. And there wasn't a good Republican.

Cornish: Have a little bit more California coming up. Gavin Newsom. After the break, we're going to talk about him. He's been, of course, feeding speculation about a presidential run with something he calls Project 2029.

Plus, Pete Hegseth and his plan to deploy A.I. on the battlefield and his latest controversial message to the troops.

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CORNISH: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirming that the Pentagon is terminating 20 percent of its generals and admirals by the end of this year. He made the announcement in a, quote, "State of the Force address" at Quantico on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HESGETH, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The media calls that a purge. I call it accountability and long overdue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Hegseth also announced something he called Project Meridian, a program that will examine and identify weapons and technologies for future wars. He's tapped Elon Musk and Newt Gingrich to lead it.

And he continued his tough talk against woke culture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: We are no longer the Woke Department or the Weak Department. Simple translation -- translation of that: no Fannie, no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Former U.S. Army Major Harrison Mann joins the group chat. He's also a former executive officer of the Defense Intelligence Agency's Middle East Africa regional center. Thank you so much for being here.

You've actually read some of the memos he's put out, and some of the ones I'm interested in are kind of creating new paths for those outside the military, or they are creating a kind of new like an American heritage program. Can you talk about what you found?

MAJ. HARRISON MANN, FORMER EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY'S MIDDLE EAST AFRICA REGIONAL CENTER: Yes. So, one of his new initiatives is creating a new corps of cadets at several civilian universities, which, you know, on its own wouldn't be worrisome. But two of the five he chose are conservative Christian private universities.

And the memo establishing it explicitly states that he wants a commissioning program to put new officers in the military that's focused on American heritage.

That's a -- that's a pretty shallow dog whistle for white people.

And he's saying the current service academies like West Point or the Naval Academy are not doing a good enough job at commissioning officers who value American heritage.

So, it looks like he's trying to put his own imprint, his own Christian supremacist imprint, on the future leaders of the military, because the ones he's got right now are not sufficiently subservient.

CORNISH: One of the things he says, though, is it's about accountability, that a lot of the people that he is a -- they've always said, I think, on the right, we have heard it's too bloated at the top.

And so, I don't think it's that much of a surprise that he's fired people, just to give people a sense of this 20 plus generals and admirals either terminated or resigned. That included the joint chiefs of chairman, top officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force out.

And the goal, the stated goal, was to out 800 top officers by January 1.

MANN: So, firing general officers who don't perform is a good thing, right? That's a gap that Hegseth has seized on, firing officers because they're black, because they're women, or too frequently because they've tried to follow the law in contravention to Hegseth's orders, is not a good thing. Right?

And we've seen him cashier officers who pushed back against the illegal, murderous boat strikes in the Caribbean; who had concerns about him repositioning forces in Europe; and who otherwise seem to have tried to -- to follow the law and maintain the professional culture of the Pentagon.

And so, I wish this was a performance bloat campaign. It really seems like it's about streamlining his personalized control over the DOD.

CORNISH: One of the things that's interesting is hearing people like Thom Tillis suddenly kind of speak out. I mean, obviously, Thom Tillis approved this cabinet position.

Here is an example of him kind of calling for reassessing of the secretary of defense.

[06:25:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I think I'm pretty well staked out on my -- my assessment of Mr. Hegseth. This is not personal.

I mean, people need to realize I worked as a management consultant. I went into companies, and I identified areas where they needed to improve.

We've got a management problem here. He needs to go, whether it's impeachment or the most expedient route. It's just the president replace him, would be great.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: And then one more. Thomas Massie in the House said this just, I think, about a week ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY ): Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to civilians; the lawful conduct of United States military operations; the integrity and credibility of the United States armed forces; and the Constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I doubt he's going anywhere. So why? Why do you think they're coming forward and being --

DUBKE: I don't know, it seems --

CORNISH: -- so specific in their criticism?

DUBKE: Well, I think that -- because Hegseth has given them the -- the ability to be that specific about their criticism, there's a lot in this running management of the -- of the Pentagon that I think people can point to.

And I do think it's interesting that Republicans feel like this is a safe place to go and criticize the administration. But here's the thing.

CORNISH: You mean the floor of the House?

DUBKE: Yes. Or in the halls of -- of Congress. And this -- going after Hegseth is a safe avenue for Republicans to criticize the administration, because Hegseth has been out there. And I'm not here to defend --

HAYS: These people too much credit. They are also on their way out. So, they don't have --

DUBKE: Exactly right. And --

HAYS: --- a lot of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) anymore. And that's so like they're still cowards.

DUBKE: And that's the other point I want to make, because especially with Thom Tillis, Thom Tillis was the deciding vote on Hegseth.

So, some of this might be buyer's remorse coming from Thom Tillis, but it doesn't mean that they don't actually have -- and I think Massie, that is -- that's more of a publicity stunt on the floor.

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: And he's taken swings on his way out, but legitimately, you do need to look at the Pentagon and see how it's been run, what the esprit de corps is, what our armaments are, all of this thing. Now, I will say this one thing on the 20 percent. I don't know if we

have a bloated military. I think there's been calls for this for years. But the -- but this call has been made for years.

And if we're finally going to rightsize the Pentagon, I would like to just look at that from -- from an optics and say, well, is it the right time --

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: -- to rightsize the Pentagon? It may be.

MANN: He did also create a new four-star command with these announcements for drones and autonomous warfare, which is going to create a bunch of new general officer positions.

DUBKE: But good. I mean, we need to monitor -- monitor -- modernize the military, as well, because too often, we have these, you know, these old weapons systems that just don't perform in this theater anymore.

So, look, I'm -- I'm all for that. The question is the management.

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: And I think Thom Tillis is --

CORNISH: I mean, I would --

DUBKE: -- straight up on management.

CORNISH: -- want them to not be fired for not cause. You know what I mean? Especially if you've worked your whole life in the military. But I don't know.

I think one of the things I'm struck by is I thought it was going to be DOGE. But in the end, Pete Hegseth will probably have the most profound effect and legacy on his corner of the government that this country has seen, probably since the integration of the military itself.

MANN: I wish that wasn't true, but it increasingly looks like the direction he's moving in. It's the biggest bureaucracy in the country, I think, in the world, and it's one that, by design, has to be obedient.

And so, he's got incredible power to reshape this institution in his image.

We've seen him, cashier generals who don't agree with him. We're seeing him now find ways, like through policy, to inject and hopefully not in a permanent way, but inject, you know, legally Christian nationalist ideology into.

CORNISH: Like, a lot of temporary type positions here and there. MANN: He's creating -- he's trying to create new offices. He's trying

to create new permanent roles in the military that are going to try and maintain this ideology for him.

And I just want to add, it's -- it's not totally hopeless, right? We do still have a Congress, and it's up to them to vote whether to fund a lot of this stuff. I worry that we have a tradition of reflexively voting for defense authorization.

CORNISH: So much so that we attach things to it that need to pass.

MANN: Exactly. But it's ultimately not Hegseth's decision.

CORNISH: OK. Did you have one more?

WRIGHT: Yes. I would just add that he is operating not by himself. He is operating with the permission and acceptance and, a lot of times, the encouragement of President Trump, right? He serves at his favor.

And President Trump maybe for his questions about munitions that have been reported privately and all those things, still likes Hegseth and still puts him in his role, no matter if people are in his ear complaining about him.

CORNISH: All right, Harrison, thank you so much. Always appreciate your time.

Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, we're hearing from Israel, saying that it's going to investigate an incident on board a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv as a terrorist attack. So, I'm going to speak with a former Israeli intelligence official.

And later on CNN, a lethal injection failure. An inmate is alive after not one but two execution attempts. Going to find out what went wrong on Tennessee's Death Row.

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