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One World with Zain Asher

Israel-bound Flydubai Flight Was Diverted to Saudi Arabia; Aircraft Plunged More Than 17,000 Feet in Two Minutes; Passengers Returning to Israel on Flydubai Plane; New Details Raise Questions About What University Police Knew; Fresh Backlash Erupts Over School's Handling of 2024 Case; Flight Carrying Stranded Passengers is En Route to Tel Aviv. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired September 30, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Right. Welcome to "One World". I'm Zain Asher.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. We're coming to you live with breaking news at this hour. And news out of Israel

with the Israeli Prime Minister now calling what has occurred over the last few hours the most serious security incident.

This aboard a passenger plane bound for Tel Aviv from Dubai. Benjamin Netanyahu says one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and appears to

have tried to crash the plane?

ASHER: Take a look here. You're actually going to see a photo from social media showing this is a male passenger in a bloodied T-shirt. A

spokesperson for Flydubai says there was an altercation in the cockpit, some kind of altercation in the cockpit, a potential fight may have broken

out, and a crew member intervened, diverted, and landed the aircraft in Saudi Arabia.

The spokesperson cautioned that at this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives at this point are unknown. Earlier, an Israeli official said

that an Omani national was the co-pilot.

GOLODRYGA: The aircraft plunged some 5000 meters or 17,000 feet in less than two minutes. And as we mentioned, the flight made an emergency landing

at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. Flydubai has sent replacement aircraft to Tabuk, and the Israeli Prime Minister had more to say on the incident,

including that passengers and crew broke into the cockpit and then subdued the assailant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: This morning, there was a severe security incident on a flight from Dubai to Israel. Almost all the

passengers on that flight were Israelis. During the flight, as they approached Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the stick -- and probably

tried to crush the plane on all its passengers.

I spoke with one of the passengers, and he told me that the plane went in a turbulence and started to sink, and that in a way, somehow, managed to

broke into the cockpit, and together with the other pilot, did that they neutralized the other. Another team who were on the plane went into the

cockpit and managed to stabilize the plane. I salute those heroes who were resourceful and discovered resourcefulness and saved the plane.

The plane was -- the plane landed in Tabuk, and we are in contact with the authorities in order to guarantee the passengers' welfare and safety and

bringing back to Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Earlier, we spoke to CNN Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond on this. Take a listen to what he said here.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Beyond what the Israeli Prime Minister actually said in that statement, what also is notable is what he

did not say. He did not call this terrorism, even though we've been told by Israeli sources that they are -- that they suspect that this may have been

an attempted terrorist attack.

But that shows that the work is very much still ongoing by Israeli authorities to try and determine whether or not this was a terrorist

attack, an attempted terrorist attack, what the motivations were of this co-pilot who stabbed the captain of the plane and then tried to crash the

plane, according to the Israeli Prime Minister.

And so, there are so many unknown questions here, how this passenger and crew member managed to break in to this cockpit to stop what was going to

be a disaster should that plane have continued in its dramatic descent towards the earth. So, a lot that we still don't know here, and a lot that

Israeli authorities are currently trying to piece together.

GOLODRYGA: All right, let's bring in Captain Meidan Barr. He is the Former Chairman of the Israel Airline Pilot Association and joins us now from

Berlin. Meidan, thank you so much for joining us.

[11:05:00]

First question, are you in touch with Israeli officials with current aviation officials in Israel, as we're trying to piece together the

sequence of events? And your response to what we heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu suggesting that, according to Israeli intelligence, thus far,

this may have been an attempted terror attack.

MEIDAN BARR, FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE ISRAEL AIRLINE PILOT ASSOCIATION: Of course, that we're all in touch. This is a significant event for aviation,

not only Israel. We do not take it under a microscope because this event will might change the way we all fly or recruit airline pilots in the

coming future.

Let's say that the good thing, and that's the major good thing that has to be said, as Prime Minister Netanyahu said, we salute those heroes on board,

and this plane landed safely, and this is not something that you can take for granted because descending 15,000 feet on an -- let's say exceeding the

maximum speed could eventually got this plane to tear apart in midair, and it did not.

So that's the first thing. The second thing that has to be said now, you know, as we will speak in like four minutes, there will be 14 flights only

from LaGuardia Airport. There are people out there boarding the plane, or people that will fly tomorrow, the airspace in the Middle East, in Israel,

in the world is safe and open.

And that is thanks for the companies that invest huge money for safety and security, and the pilots that's their main goal, and that will not change

tomorrow or the day after. It will be a little easier. It needs to be said to investigate this event because everyone is alive.

And this aircraft is recording everything and is like let's say it's safe underground in Saudi Arabia, and the investigation already started, and we

will have to be focused and we'll know in a few days everything that needs to be done. That's it.

ASHER: Meidan, you know I dread to think what could have happened if the crew hadn't intervened. I mean, God knows what could have happened. But you

know, if you know, obviously we know that, as you point out, there's going to be an investigation. Thank goodness the passengers are all safe.

There's going to be an investigation. If it is determined that the motive was indeed terrorism. You know, there has been some suggestion that perhaps

they were targeting somewhere in Tel Aviv or Ben Gurion Airport. If the motive was terrorism and also tied to what is happening in the region right

now, which of course you cannot ignore, what changes now for flights bound to Israel, just in terms of additional security, additional screening.

I mean, you mentioned at the top of your answer that this could completely revolutionize the way we all fly, because since 9/11, that so much has been

done to protect the cockpit from the passengers. No one's even seemed to invest much time in sort of thinking that the threat could actually come

from within the cockpit itself.

BARR: You know, I understand that. That's a very, very good point. You know, that's the last day of September, 25 years ago. I was there at 9/11.

I saw it, and it changed the world that we live in. Not only aviation, Israel, for the last three years and more, has been challenging like no

other country before tried to sustain aviation.

If you want to see how aviation acts in war, you can reach out to Ukraine, it does not exist, and I hope it will return there too. You know,

sustainable aviation in this region, especially in my country, is a challenge that never done before, and that is thanks for the great

companies that we have.

And the authorities and the pilots, men and women, that you know some of them are serving as reserve, and the day after they fly you to anywhere

else and back under missiles, and attack and threats.

[11:10:00]

And we are working hard and I can assure you. I can assure you, the Israeli airspace will stay open. And we will do our most as we can in order to

sustain aviation in the region. And from here, as the pilot association chairman, I can send a shake and a huge hug for our Emirates colleagues.

That incident hurt them too, and they are our friends, and they will stay like that. And you know, if there is anything that can stabilize a region

like us, is aviation connections. Those connections and those plane, regardless from where the pilot came from, the pilot is the number.

Those connections can really stable, and they sometimes they are like, let's say, stronger than bridges and roads.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah.

BARR: And this is a significant day, and we will probably be speaking about that for long.

GOLODRYGA: And it comes after a significant day diplomatically, where Prime Minister Netanyahu was visiting with the President of the UAE as well. I

have been on this exact flight on Flydubai to Tel Aviv. History was made when this type of aviation became available, where Israelis could fly to

Dubai and those Emirates could also fly to Israel.

As we're piecing together the sequence of events here, it does appear that one of these pilots attacked their co-pilots, and it was perhaps the

heroism not only of the passengers who subdued the pilot, but also another off-duty pilot. What are you hearing about who was able to actually

stabilize the plane and land it?

BARR: I understand this question. It's very interesting, but I can tell you that. Not all the details we know, but we will soon. You know, aviation

everywhere in the world. I think you know it from the state, from the NTSB, and then Israel too. The investigation has already started.

We will know exactly who spoke to whom and who did what in matter of seconds. So, let's don't tie, let's say, the notches before, because it

will take minimum time that we will have a clear view of what happened here. Just imagine, as you said before, you know this event ended the way

it did, thank God.

But it could have ended another way around.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah.

BARR: And you never look at an incident in aviation as a single digit. You always look what can happen. What is the next corner that you don't see,

and that is the reason that we're investigating. And I would like to say it one more time, there are hundreds of thousands of people, kids, men, women,

children that are boarding planes now.

Pilots will take you anywhere, any time, and back because our main goal is safety and security. This will not change a bit, not tomorrow and not the

day after.

GOLODRYGA: Meidan Barr, while we have you quickly, and we just want to show our viewers if they were confused. What we saw a moment ago, were

passengers on the plane who were cheering once the plane safely made it and landed in Saudi Arabia. All of those on board appear to be OK, and there

you see them celebrating what could have been a horrific outcome.

Can I quickly ask you, Meidan, since this is your area of expertise? Are pilots screened any different once they enter an airport before they get on

a plane than passengers are?

BARR: That really depends on the country and in the airport. But I can tell you that pilots are checked and screened as any other passengers with the

same machines, sometimes it's like a different line, so you don't see it because they're doing that like three, four times a week.

Sometimes three, four times a day. It depends. But the pilots are checked, and I tell you more than that. You know that a pilot is doing a check ride,

a test to valid his license every six months, you know, and a narrow surgeon doesn't do it one time in their life, so they are checked twice a

year medical.

They are checked twice a year in the simulator. They are checked in many other checks that we don't have the time to speak about them now.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah.

[11:15:00]

BARR: Pilots in the world are the most, let's say monitored transportation worker there is, and they're working for the public, and we are working for

the public all over the world, and we will continue to do so safely and securely.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, as the investigation begins, trying to understand how this co-pilot was allegedly able to bring a weapon, a knife, whatever it was

that he used to attack his fellow pilot with. Meidan Barr, thank you so much. We should just update our viewers that CNN is reporting that the

plane bringing the passengers back to Israel has departed Saudi Arabia.

Now they are on their way home for a relatively short flight. Hopefully, it will be an uneventful flight where they can be reunited with their loved

ones in Tel Aviv. All right, we'll be back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: All right, we have disturbing new details emerging in the alleged gang rape of a Former Cornell University student. We're now

learning that the alleged victim, Jane Doe, reportedly told University Police in 2024.

ASHER: Yeah, CNN Affiliate WCBS reports it obtained a transcript of her interview with police weeks after she was allegedly assaulted at a

fraternity house. And ABC News has reported it obtained the six-page written statement signed by Jane Doe to Cornell at the time.

According to those reports, Jane Doe told police she was heavily intoxicated that night. She also told police that she was OK with an

initial encounter, but that later in the night she did not consent and that she believed she was raped. That's according to WCBS. She also described

being physically hit as well.

GOLODRYGA: In a new statement to CNN, the district attorney is responding, saying, I will be looking into whether this is true and the specific

circumstances of this allegation. I was not provided the transcript, and the specific statement that has been attributed to Jane Doe was not

included in the written statement that I received from Cornell PD.

I will be investigating this fully and determining the truth.

ASHER: Our Jason Carroll spoke with students on Cornell's campus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An unsettling mood of distrust and anger among some students at Cornell University.

[11:20:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can sense the air on campus that nobody can trust the administration anymore.

MATTHEW NUSSEN, CORNELL JUNIOR: Since we are very upset at the miscarriage of justice, this has been a consistent trend with Cornell. The judicial

system does not operate as it should, and this is just kind of another really horrific instance of that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cornell's Administration failed us this time.

CARROLL (voice-over): Many here say more should have been done to protect a former student identified as Jane Doe in a new civil complaint, where she

alleges in 2024, several members of the Chi Phi Fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted her while she was unable to consent.

The complaint prompted local prosecutors to reopen a criminal investigation and has sparked talk across campus about underage drinking and consent.

MANASA, CORNELL FRESHMAN: You hear a lot of people just talking about it while they're walking to class, or on the bus, or even classmates I've

never talked to, it's horrifying.

CARROLL (voice-over): According to the complaint, Jane Doe had been drinking the night in question and went to the Chi Phi house, where she

alleges she was given more alcohol, marijuana, and ketamine, and then was repeatedly assaulted. Allegedly, a Snapchat message invited other frat

members to join in, according to the complaint.

The Tompkins County DA says his office initially declined to charge the named fraternity members two years ago because Jane Doe said in a sworn

statement at the time the encounter was consensual. Her attorney denies that claim.

THOMAS P. GIUFFRA, JANE DOE'S ATTORNEY: Her life has been really ruined by this. I don't know how anybody who was grossly intoxicated and drugged can

consent to anything.

SAANYA AGARWAL, CORNELL SENIOR & CORNELL WOMEN'S ISSUES REPRESENTATIVE: I think if you talk to people, especially women on campus, this question is

always in the back of your head, of what if that was me?

CARROLL (voice-over): Saanya Agarwal is a sorority member and a senior. She recalls being a sophomore and hearing about the initial allegations

surrounding Chi Phi.

AGARWAL: We didn't know who, we didn't know how many, and then we didn't also know what specifically had happened. Like, what if they were walking

around campus? What if they were sitting next to us in class? We had no idea, and I think that's terrifying. That's absolutely so scary. And a

woman should not feel like that.

CARROLL (voice-over): Agarwal says she felt so strongly about what she called the lack of transparency on behalf of the university at the time. It

prompted her to run for a position on the student assembly, focusing on women's issues. A position she now holds.

AGARWAL: It was that specific situation, and not knowing what had happened. So last year, I spent a lot of time talking to administrators, talking to

sorority and fraternity, like trying to one understand like why there was such a lack of transparency.

CARROLL (voice-over): The university declined repeated requests for an interview. Cornell released a statement saying the university conducted its

own investigation, which resulted in banning the fraternity chapter, suspending and expelling some of the students in question.

Despite their actions, some students and alumni have signed petitions calling for a permanent ban of Chi Phi. Another pledging to withhold

university donations. A fragile trust between student and administration here clearly strained.

HAYDEN WATKINS, EVP OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY STUDENT ASSEMBLY: There's just a lot of administrative distrust. I don't think students feel comfortable

going to anyone like vaguely associated with administration.

ELLIOT SCHEUER, CORNELL SENIOR: I think a lot of people already have this understanding that the university has disappointed them time and again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: My next guest wrote an essay in Elle magazine about the Cornell University lawsuit, saying, this is about a system that has decided, at

every structural level, that the comfort and future of the accused matters more than the safety and survival of the survivor.

Rita Omokha joins us live now. She writes frequently about culture, race, politics, and history. Just reading through your essay, I mean, one of the

things that, especially as a mother, I mean, any mother or any parent that has a daughter, I mean, this is every parent's worst nightmare.

This idea that your daughter could potentially experience anything like this, and that you're powerless as a parent, to be able to protect her in

this kind of environment. Just reading through your essay, you know one of the things that has broken my heart is this alleged Snapchat message that

was exchanged among these young men, essentially saying that there was a woman who was quote, unquote, available upstairs, inviting other of their

friends to potentially sexually assault this woman, that was at 01:42 a.m.

And the alleged sexual assault of this poor woman did not end until 06:00 a.m. And then, just in terms of how the university responded to this,

apparently one person was expelled, but that other students were essentially told that they had to write essays. They had to write essays as

a form of mitigation.

Just, I mean, that is just -- I mean, I don't even have the words to describe not just how heartbroken I am for the woman who was involved in

this, but just how angry I am. If that was a potential consequence for the students who were involved.

[11:25:00]

Explain to us just you know, your essay talks about the fact that a lot of these university systems let down survivors. How should Cornell have

responded, Rita?

RITA OMOKHA, WRITER OF CULTURE, RACE, POLITICS, AND HISTORY: Well, that's a question for them, right? Because Cornell's failure is a larger

conversation about what happens with systems, right? We live in a system that makes it OK for institutions at every single level to be protected.

So, on Monday, the same day that the prosecutors reopen the case, what happens? The Trump Administration goes ahead and rolls back the Title IX

rules that is supposed to proactively move and make schools move to proactively move and ensure that they're able to make sure that sexual

assault cases are not being done at this level.

So, I think it's not my question to answer whether or not Cornell should have done this or that. I think it's a failure of the entire system and the

fact that the Trump Administration rolls back the Title IX rules that should be protecting the students.

GOLODRYGA: Rita, now we have prosecutors who have reopened the case. Governor Hochul herself wants an independent review of Cornell's response.

What must these investigations establish? And I guess the broader question is why did it take national outrage to get to this point?

OMOKHA: That's the concerning point, right? It should not be justice should not come from a viral moment. It should be embedded in our system. But we

see time and time again that is not the case. So, when I hear the DA say things like, oh, well, my hands may be constrained because of the New York

State law.

So, well, we have to look at the law. We have to look at the law that says if someone is intoxicated, they can give consent. That is a problem. We

have to start teaching our young boys, our young girls, what is consent. So, I think right now the legal conversation is a bigger conversation to be

had for sure.

But I think it has to go back to educating our young people, our young men, our young women what it means to be to give consent, because if the law can

protect young women, then we need to talk to our young people, young boys, young girls, what it means to consent.

ASHER: You know, when your kid goes off to university, and my kids are little. But when they go off to university, you know that is supposed to be

a time of just so much promise, opportunity. You know, your child is essentially out in the world for the first time.

And then you see something like this, and you see these kinds of stories, and it reminds you that sometimes university campuses can be terrifying

places because for the first time in your life as a parent, when your kid goes off to college, you can't really protect them in the same way.

For parents who have, I mean, you talked about just this idea of educating our children. For parents who have young girls who are about to go off to

college or who have just started their first semester, we are in September, so just started their first semester at university.

OMOKHA: Yeah.

ASHER: What sort of conversation should we be having with A, our young girls and B, young boys, especially, just in a way, just to really educate

our children. And I think especially young boys, as you point out, that this sort of thing cannot ever be tolerated like, explain to us the kinds

of conversations parents should be having.

OMOKHA: Yeah, I think it goes back to the system, right? So, if the system is not willing to protect women, especially we as the adults, we as the

parents, we as the mentors, we have to do something. There's a scripture in the Bible that says, train up a child in the way that they should go, so

that when they get older, they won't depart from it.

That's what this is all about. We have to have these candid conversations with young boys, especially about what is consent. And I think it goes back

to just being in the home, having this comfortable conversation about what it means to protect yourself, to protect your body, but also to protect

those around you.

The fact that there was a Snapchat with other men, other boys in that saying, free, pussy, the fact that there were other people in there and no

one else could stand up for Jane Doe that is a travesty.

GOLODRYGA: You mentor young girls who dream of attending Cornell in all of your compassion and hopes that they achieve those dreams, you, I know at

this point have to be honest with them and whether or not you should advise them to go to universities where it seems like there is almost zero

consequence for this type of action, at the very least, writing an essay a slap on the wrist.

I mean, laws are laws, rules are rules. What would it need? What would it take? What would you need to see change at Cornell and perhaps other

institutions of higher learning to make it safe for girls and make them feel that they are excepted there and can go to school safely as equals

with boys.

[11:30:00]

OMOKHA: Accountability, right? I open the essay by naming names of men who were powerful. So, these young men who were in this group chat, they're

going to be one day be the president, the CEO. We need to start accountability now. We need to discipline the kids now so that when they

get older, as I mentioned earlier, they know that there are consequences to their actions.

So, it starts with the schools, with Cornell saying we messed up. This was a major failure on Cornell's part, and they had to start by taking

accountability, and so to ensure that in the future this doesn't happen again by protecting its students, but they do that with actions, they do

that with discipline, and it has to start now.

ASHER: I mean, worth noting, this is not just a Cornell problem, right?

OMOKHA: Right.

ASHER: This is a problem, you know, when it comes to higher education more broadly, we've seen this kind of thing, obviously, at other universities

across America, but I mean, of course, when this comes up in the news, it does strike a chord with a lot of people, especially women, especially

parents of young girls, because I imagine you know this is every parent's worst nightmare, especially if you have young girls.

Rita, we have to leave it there. Thank you. Thank you so much for coming on the show to discuss.

OMOKHA: Thank you.

ASHER: We're right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right, welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher.

GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Here are some headlines we're watching today. An altercation between two pilots caused a Flydubai flight from

Dubai to Israel to be diverted to Saudi Arabia earlier Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says one pilot stabbed the other and

appears to have tried to crash the plane.

He says one pilot has been arrested.

[11:35:00]

Passengers from the diverted aircraft are now on their way to Tel Aviv in a replacement flight.

ASHER: The U.S. military says the last of its troops in Iraq left the country Wednesday, ending a 12-year mission, excuse me, to fight ISIS. The

withdrawal was celebrated by Iran-backed groups, but it's raising concerns among some Iraqis, particularly in the Kurdish region.

Baghdad is marking the U.S. withdrawal with a public holiday.

GOLODRYGA: A new twist in the police investigation into events around a British air base at the weekend. Media reports say one of the five men

detained had called the police shortly before they were arrested. All five were released on bail a day later. The U.S. military uses the base in its

war with Iran.

ASHER: Well protesters in Madrid and other Spanish cities continue to call for action to address a major housing crisis. The government has proposed

measures to address the problem of soaring rents, but some activists say that bolder steps are needed. Parliament will vote on the government's

plans on Friday.

All right, an update on our breaking news, a plane bringing home stranded passengers has taken off from Saudi Arabia's Tabuk airport, and it's on its

way to Tel Aviv right now.

GOLODRYGA: The passengers land in Saudi Arabia after an emergency on board the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The Israeli Prime Minister said one

pilot stabbed the other pilot and then apparently tried to crash the plane. The original flight plunged more than 5,000 meters, that's about 17,000

feet-in less than two minutes.

Saudi officials say, and we're just being told that the flight has landed in Tel Aviv. One passenger shared this appeal while still in the air.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are here on the plane right now. We have taken control of the terrorists. We are about to land. Anyone who hears me, we

need help. We are landing in Tabuk, probably in the Saudi Arabia area, an unknown and unfamiliar area. Everyone on the plane is healthy and whole

except for the pilot. We need help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: CNN's Eleni Giokos is in Dubai for us, following this story. Eleni, I mean, it's impossible to sort of understate the level, or overstate

rather the level of heroism that took place on this flight. I mean, the fact that you had crew, passengers intervening, entering the cockpit,

obviously not knowing if their own lives were at risk, and crew, pilots, off-duty pilots, essentially landing the plane.

Talk to us about the investigation because yes, there is some speculation about possible motives and what you know was intended to happen in terms of

you know could there have been a terrorist attack that was about to take place? We don't know for sure. But what does the investigation look like in

terms of talking to the pilots that were involved, and also you know, flydubai as well. Walk us through that.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, there's so many questions unanswered, Zain. In fact, I was just speaking to the director because I

know that we have live images of Ben Gurion Airport, and you were saying this a little earlier a few minutes ago that the flight, the repatriation

flight has now landed at Ben Gurion Airport after this harrowing experience.

And as you can see, you've got Israeli officials as well as military on standby. This was a massive security incident, and it is just absolutely

incredible to think about how the plane was stabilized after dropping 17,400 feet in the span of two minutes, and then ending up at Tabuk Airport

in Saudi Arabia safely.

Flydubai has said that all crew and passengers are safe, and they haven't said anything about injuries, and we haven't heard anything, any details

about injuries from Israeli officials. What we do know that transpired. Again, according to Israeli officials, is that the co-pilot and the pilot

were in a violent altercation.

Stabbing occurred. They were able to break through into the cockpit with the assistance of flight crew as well as passengers. They were able to

neutralize the co-pilots, and you can see some harrowing images of some passengers that were covered in blood. And then, interestingly, and this is

according to Flydubai, that other Flydubai crew were able to divert and land the plane safely.

So, this could have ended very badly, but clearly, you know everything. I mean, we're seeing this plane land with Israelis right now. So, very

important development here, Zain and Bianna.

ASHER: Right, Eleni Giokos. Thank you for that. Appreciate it. Right, still to come here on "One World".

GOLODRYGA: More on the fly, devoted to Saudi Arabia earlier, which is historic in and of itself.

ASHER: Right.

GOLODRYGA: An Israeli-filled airplane landing in Saudi Arabia. What airline officials are saying, and how one mother describes what happened on the

plane. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:40:00]

ASHER: All right, passengers on board the Tel Aviv-bound flight that was forced to divert to Saudi Arabia have actually just arrived in Israel on a

replacement flight.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, that's after a harrowing ordeal in the air as they traveled from Dubai to Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister said one pilot

stabbed the other pilot and then apparently tried to crash the plane. The original flight plunged more than 5,000 meters. That's about 17,000 feet in

less than two minutes.

Benjamin Netanyahu says passengers and crew members helped subdue the attacker, and the flight landed in Saudi Arabia. The mother of one of the

passengers has been talking about what her daughter told her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YASMINN ABUKASIS, DAUGHTER WAS ON FLYDUBAI FLIGHT: The plane starts to lose control, so all the people, they scream, the things they are going. After a

few minutes, two other pilots they took the -- the control. And few Israeli, they run away to the guy, he took a knife and tried to kill the

pilot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: All right, joining us now, CNN Aviation Analyst Miles O'Brien. Miles, we spoke with an Israeli pilot who is a former head of the Israeli

Aviation Association, and as one would imagine, he would -- was very responsible in not assuming anything and saying that we're still having to

see what this investigation tells us and how things unfold.

But from what you know now about the chain of events, what are some of the first questions that come to mind, in particular about how this pilot was

able to bring some form of a weapon or potential weapon on board with him?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, it's worth pointing out that every cockpit on every airliner is equipped with an ax. It's called a crash

ax, and it's there for safety. But clearly, it can be turned into a weapon. So, it's possible that is what happened here.

Pilots don't have to have to bring a sharp object on board, it's right there beside them as they sit in their seats. This raises the larger

question of sort of the last item on the list of aviation safety, which is so difficult to address. We've done so many things over the years to

improve the technology of flight.

[11:45:00]

The engines are more reliable. The systems are better. Redundancies upon redundancies. After 9/11, we reinforce the cockpit doors. But ultimately,

if the individual sitting at the controls of the aircraft, for whatever reason, whether psychological or with the intent of terrorism, makes a

decision to do the wrong thing, it's almost impossible to stop that.

We've talked a lot about better psychological screening for pilots to ensure we don't get a suicidal pilot, as we saw in 2015 with German wings.

You'll recall that one. But if there is truly an intent to commit a crime, it's very difficult for the airline or anybody else to root that out.

So, it's a real problem. And while we don't want to alarm people, it is sort of the last, most difficult issue in the world of aviation safety. How

do we make the human being at the controls, safer?

ASHER: What would it have been like on this flight for the off-duty pilots, the crew that ended up intervening? I mean, I'm just trying to sort of put

myself in their shoes. You are suddenly experiencing the plane basically engaging in a really, really rapid descent that I think a lot of people

would experience as not normal, and then you're hearing potentially fighting and screaming from the cockpit.

I mean, what a harrowing few minutes that would have been. And then someone possibly towards the front of the plane would have had the wherewithal to

intervene. And at that point, putting themselves in danger because you have no idea what is happening in the cockpit.

And you're now entering the cockpit, trying to sort of stabilize the plane, but knowing that there is somebody who is potentially attacking you at the

same time. Just sort of -- talk to us about what those three or four minutes would have been like for the crew that intervened, and also the

passengers.

O'BRIEN: Pure horror, right? You can imagine two people strapped into seats right beside each other in close quarters. If one attacks the other, the

victim is quite literally a sitting duck. How do you even get away from an attack like this? And credit must be given to the individual inside the

cockpit who is able to open the door.

Remember, these doors are hardened and set up in such a way that you can't get in from the outside. If you hadn't been able to breach that cockpit

door, what would have happened here is another question on my mind. So somehow that door got opened, and passengers and there were some pilots on

in the back of the plane, off duty, who assisted in getting the aircraft safely on the ground.

It's truly heroic, but you know it reminds me a little bit of what happened on 9/11 in Pennsylvania in Shanksville. This was the passengers who

realized what was happening and took matters into their own hands, and perhaps saved the U.S. capital from being crashed into by an airliner.

You have to wonder the kind of what could have happened here if there was a terrorist in tent and this aircraft was headed to Tel Aviv. What might have

been a target? So, it's a combination of passengers flying with the knowledge that these situations can go in this direction post 9/11, and

heroic individuals, normal people, everyday people, taking heroic action to save the day.

And you know I can't say enough good things about these people. They're not trained to do this, and yet it appears a much worse outcome could have

happened. Certainly, the fact that nobody, none of those passengers is, you know, everybody's alive is pretty amazing.

GOLODRYGA: A nightmare scenario, and then a miraculous scenario at the same time, the fact that the cockpit door somehow got open, whether it was the

co-pilot who had the wherewithal to open it during the attack, or somebody on the other side, and then for there to be someone to land this plane as

well, truly incredible.

Miles, talk to us about the conversations being had right now in airline boardrooms around the world.

O'BRIEN: It's really the elephant in the room. You know, no one wants to really discuss it out loud because it raises such potential concern among

the flying public. When you look at that captain and pilot as you get on the aircraft, you know what's going on between the years there, we don't

know for sure.

You know, 99 percent of the time, these are people who are dedicated to safety and getting you to your location and doing the utmost to make all

that happen.

[11:50:00]

But human beings are human beings, and how we set up a system to filter for that kind of intent is a huge challenge. It's much easier for aviation to

focus on building a better performing engine or more sophisticated avionics, or for that matter, to come up with a way of hardening a cockpit

door.

Trying to get inside the human mind and seeing what's going on there, and trying to filter out individuals who either for psychological reasons,

depression or otherwise, or malevolent intent, might want to do harm with an airplane, that's a huge, huge challenge.

ASHER: And there's no real, I mean, I can't sort of see any kind of obvious solution. I mean, you bring up the German Wing's flight in 2015, where I

don't even want to bring it up because it's so sad and painful. But essentially, the pilot apparently wanted to commit suicide, and down the

plane.

And the way he did it was when one of the pilots went to the bathroom, he locked himself in the cockpit so the other pilot couldn't get in, and so

with this, you know, whole movement since 9/11 to reinforce and harden cockpit doors, you have solved many problems.

You know, if the threat is coming from the passengers, but you may have inadvertently created another problem, and you know the solution here, I

mean, I have no idea. I mean, just give us your take on this idea of, you know, if the threat is coming from within the cockpit and the doors are not

able to be opened, that is a concern.

O'BRIEN: Yeah, you talk about an unintended consequence sky. Not to be flip about this, but it's like the horror film when the phone call is traced and

it's coming from inside the house, right? This is inside the cockpit. Everything about the system is built around the idea that you can trust the

flight crew, and if you can't trust the flight crew, the foundation of it all kind of crumbles.

So, are there ways, perhaps? Certainly, there are technological ways to do this, where an aircraft could be brought under remote control, for example,

maybe this is something we need to look at down the road as automation increases and makes that more practical and possible.

Would it be better if we had cameras in the cockpit, not just voice recorders? Pilots have resisted this for a long time, but if you had an

aircraft in trouble for one reason or another, and you could literally downlink the video as you're watching this thing unfold, that might provide

a measure of safety as well.

But it's -- it there needs to be a very honest conversation about how pilots are filtered through the system for their psychological components,

it really is in the U.S. It's very much a lip service thing. Psychological exams are, you know, not a priority. And more importantly, pilots are loath

to report any problems of depression because they're afraid, they'll be immediately grounded.

So, there's a stigma associated with it, and there's retribution. So, until we kind of get an honest conversation going about this, sadly, this kind of

thing can happen.

GOLODRYGA: I mean, we're talking sort of a sci-fi. I'm just thinking of the movie I just watched with my kids' Minority Report.

ASHER: Oh yeah.

GOLODRYGA: You almost need like a pre-crime agency developed to test people.

O'BRIEN: -- right.

GOLODRYGA: And we know how that movie turned out. So that may not be the magic solution either. Miles O'Brien --

O'BRIEN: We don't want Minority Report. No, we don't.

GOLODRYGA: No, no. Miles O'Brien, and we will definitely want you and your analysis, though, on as much as we can. Thank you so much. Really

appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: -- You are welcome.

ASHER: Thank you, Miles. We'll be right back with more after this short break.

O'BRIEN: Take care.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:55:00]

GOLODRYGA: All right, you are looking at live pictures outside of Ben Gurion Airport, of what is definitely not an ordinary evening in that

country or at that airport, as passengers who have had a harrowing day and experience for several hours as their flight thankfully avoided the worst

in what appears to have been an attempted terror attack or an attack to bring down the plane, those passengers.

I've been on this flight from Flydubai, from Dubai to Tel Aviv. It's usually two hours. It's been much longer, given that it was diverted to

Saudi Arabia. Let's bring in Miles O'Brien. In Miles, as these passengers we see await to leave the plane and are exiting. Just walk us through the

psychological trauma that they not only have experienced.

But what -- how they can help investigators try to piece together the sequence of events? Do we have Miles O'Brian with us?

O'BRIEN: I'm still here. Do you not hear me? Hello, do you not hear me?

GOLODRYGA: Yes --

ASHER: Sorry -- about that. We hear you now.

O'BRIEN: OK.

GOLODRYGA: Could you hear my question?

O'BRIEN: Yeah, I did.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, great.

O'BRIEN: So, I think actually, believe it or not, those two things are kind of intertwined, because as they kind of go through in their brain what

happened and process it. Investigators are going to want to be taking some notes and recording. Clearly, it is, you know, and after they're done with

the interview, I hope they pinned a medal on them because of what they accomplished.

But yes, you know, it's -- these events with the adrenaline flowing. It's difficult for people to recount things in an accurate way, but hopefully

they'll be able to piece together the key components of this. And more importantly, give them an opportunity to sort of decompress and have some

gratitude for the fact that they're safe back in Israel.

I'm sure a few of them are have kissed the pavement having arrived. It's the investigation should be fairly straightforward.

ASHER: Right.

O'BRIEN: All the parties are still with us.

ASHER: Miles, unfortunately, we have to leave it there. We are out of time. Thank you for joining us on this story once again. The plane that was

diverted that landed in Saudi Arabia has now landed at Ben Gurion Airport. We'll be covering this story in the next hour as well.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back on the other side of this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END