Trump Retells Unverified Story of Israeli Plumber Who Allegedly Saved a Diving Plane
Trump shares a video recounting a story, attributed to Benjamin Netanyahu, of an Israeli plumber who allegedly seized the controls of a stricken aircraft and averted a crash.
WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald J. Trump shared a video on Truth Social recounting an unverified story, attributed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of an Israeli plumber who allegedly grabbed the controls of a stricken aircraft and prevented it from crashing.
Here is the full post on truthsocial: “It’s an incredible story. It seems, I mean, I can relate the story but you’re better off getting it from him. But by this time I guess I have a lot of fake stories out there and you know you never know what’s happening. But I did speak to Bibi Netanyahu at length about this event and it seems as though the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job. And he stabbed the pilot. The pilot was in very bad shape and I guess he still is in very bad shape. But he had the sense to amazing to in a way he was a hero to open the door. You know those doors are solid steel. You can’t get them open from outside. He was able to fall back and get the door open and scream. And a plumber, an Israeli plumber, never flew a plane, was rarely in planes, very rarely flew. An Israeli plumber saw what was happening, strong, you know, when you lift pipe all day you’re strong. And he saw what was going on and he heard the screaming. He was toward the front where you had security in the back. You know you had security and you had another flight crew. But they didn’t have time. The plane was going sharply down at an unbelievable angle. So sharp that the rudder ripped off the back of the plane. Plane wasn’t designed to go at a speed anywhere near that. And so it was well beyond its limits and he ripped with the G forces as they were, 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 a plane, he took the stick, lifted it up, and leveled out the plane before it crashed. Now this is the story that I heard. I don’t know if it’s true. But that’s the story that I got from Bibi and from a couple of probably early I don’t know if you’ve heard that story yet. I think it’s an amazing so a plumber, never flew a plane, strong guy,” on October 3, 2026 at 7:20 AM ET.
This is Trump’s 2nd message released today, and the last post was 0 minutes ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 145 of his 551 posts over the last 30 days classified as image-only posts.
Trump said in the video that he spoke with Netanyahu “at length” about the incident but acknowledged the account was unverified, saying, “I don’t know if it’s true.” He described the co-pilot as “perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job” who stabbed the pilot, sending the aircraft into a steep, uncontrolled dive. Trump said the descent was so sharp that the rudder tore away from the fuselage.
According to Trump’s account, the injured pilot managed to open the reinforced cockpit door and alert passengers. The plumber, seated near the front of the cabin, overpowered the co-pilot and pulled back on the flight controls, leveling the plane before it struck the ground. Trump credited the man’s physical strength, built from years of manual labor, as a factor in subduing the attacker.
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President Trump is the author of Trump: The Art of the Deal, Trump: Think Like a Billionaire: Everything You Need to Know About Success, Real Estate, and Life, and Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life. Analyst and Trump supporter Rod Martin points to The Art of the Deal, Trump's 1987 book, as an explanation of his deal-making philosophy: making big announcements, pivoting often in public statements and, Martin says, ultimately getting what he wanted all along. Critics contend that Trump's books were published decades ago or were aimed at making money, not shedding light. "Generally," Martin said, "critics don't read The Art of the Deal. If they did, they would understand."