President Donald Trump weighed in on the attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight Wednesday with high praise for the manufacturer of the aircraft involved.
“Congratulations to the GREAT Boeing Company for producing a plane, the 737 Max, that was able to withstand G Forces and Strain far beyond what it was designed or expected to do,” the president wrote on social media. “It was an amazing show of precise and powerful structural planning and design.”
The aircraft, a MAX 8, plummeted about 17,400 feet in less than two minutes as the two pilots fought for control. According to Israeli officials, one pilot stabbed the other, then attempted to crash the airplane. That pilot was removed from the cockpit and subdued by passengers and crew members, and two off-duty pilots took the controls.
Little information has been released about the aircraft’s speed or orientation during the sudden drop. One of the passengers told Israeli media that he pulled back on the yoke to level the airplane before handing off the controls to the second set of pilots. He credited the documentary series Mayday with teaching him how to pull the aircraft out of a dive.
“It is about time that The Boeing Company, which builds, by far, the finest commercial airliners in the sky, was given credit for this airplane’s incredible ‘genius!’” Trump continued. “To Kelly Ortberg, and all of his officers and associates at Boeing, congratulations on a job well done!!!”
The president’s message came as the passengers and many public officials and aviation experts expressed gratitude to the flight’s captain, Smit Machchhar. Though seriously injured, Machchhar fought back against the alleged hijacker and managed to open the cockpit door and call for help. He also helped the passengers and crew members subdue the other pilot.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Machchhar and the passengers and crew who intervened, saying they prevented a catastrophe.
The flight was en route to Tel Aviv from Dubai, and most of the 174 passengers are Israelis.
The 737 landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where the original two pilots were hospitalized. The Israeli passengers were flown to Ben Gurion International Airport on a second aircraft.
Trump has made a point of praising Boeing as an American success story in speeches and on social media. The company has also become a component of his foreign policy; during his 2025 visit to the Middle East, carriers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar agreed to buy hundreds of new Boeing jets. Earlier this year, Ortberg accompanied Trump on a state visit to China, where it was announced that Beijing will buy 200 Boeing aircraft – fewer than anticipated, but still a breakthrough, since China has not purchased any commercial aircraft from a U.S. manufacturer in almost a decade.
