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Interview With Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Transcript Emerges in Cornell University Rape Investigation; Chaos Erupts on Flydubai Flight. Aired 11-11:30a 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.

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news: An appeals court delays Tennessee's first execution of a woman in more than two centuries just minutes before it was set to happen.

And booze ban. President Trump is cutting off most alcohol from Canada. It is the latest blow in an escalating trade fight that could cost you money. We are going one-on-one with New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. She is fighting to repeal and refund Trump's latest tariffs.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf Blitzer is off, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROWN: And we begin this hour with new details on a bloody attack aboard a commercial flight in the Middle East. Heroic passengers seized control of a plane before it made an emergency landing.

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(CHEERING)

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BROWN: So those are the passengers on the Flydubai jet erupting in cheers, as you just heard.

And a short time ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot stabbed the other and then apparently tried to crash the plane. As you can see right here, the aircraft dropped a terrifying 17,000 feet in two minutes as the flight traveled from Dubai to Tel Aviv. It diverted and landed in Saudi Arabia.

And that is significant, because Israel and Saudi Arabia don't have diplomatic relations. A quick warning for you. These next images are disturbing. This is one of several passengers right here seen covered in blood. And we are now learning that some reportedly helped the injured pilot and prevented a catastrophe.

CNN's Eleni Giokos joins us now.

And this is really just a remarkable tale of heroism, Eleni.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It absolutely is.

I mean, we're hearing accounts from passengers. And, importantly, the timeline of this is really harrowing. And you showed that image of the incredible descent within two minutes dropping 17,400 feet and a huge altitude. We're talking about massive g-force, while the pilots were embroiled in a violent altercation.

From what we understand, they eventually got into the cockpit. Passengers, as well as Flydubai crew assisted in trying to neutralize the co-pilot that allegedly stabbed the pilot, both pilots injured. And we know that they are currently in hospital in Saudi Arabia.

And then, importantly, what we have heard, and we spoke about this, in terms of getting the passengers back to Israel. A short time ago, we have learned, according to passengers and family members that were waiting in Ben-Gurion Airport, that some passengers have now boarded a substitute Flydubai plane that was sent to Tabuk Airport to pick them up.

Apparently, from what we understand, some families refused to board a new flight and are insisting on flying home on an Israeli air carrier. We know that Israel was exploring the possibility of sending military aircraft or air aircraft to pick up the civilians.

But, apparently, according to Israeli sources, Riyadh has refused to allow Israeli planes to collect them, keeping in mind that Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have any diplomatic ties. However, Israel and Saudi Arabia allowed and opened up airspace for each other to allow aircraft to travel over their airspace.

But this is a very serious incident, one that could have ended very badly. We spoke to aviation experts, I mean, absolutely harrowing just the descent in itself, massive risk. And you can see the applause of the passengers as emergency landing in Tabuk got under way.

The other detail that we have learned throughout the day is just how the passengers were able to assist after hearing the loud screams emanating from the cockpit. And Flydubai has also categorically said this, that they -- we shouldn't speculate for the underlying reasons and the motives behind this event.

That is very contrary to what we're hearing from Israeli officials that say that this could have been an attempted terror attack.

BROWN: Wow.

And you have some new reporting on Israel requesting Saudi permission to retrieve the Israeli passengers. What more can you tell us about that? GIOKOS: Yes, so what we understand is, Riyadh has refused to allow

Israeli planes to land in Saudi Arabia to allow to -- for repatriation of the Israeli passengers.

Some of the passengers had agreed to board another Flydubai plane that was sent to get them back to Ben-Gurion Airport. That's all the detail we have right now. Israeli officials have just been very categorical on the fact that Riyadh has refused this.

[11:05:11]

Again, a lot of diplomacy must be happening in the background, because this isn't just a security event, according to a lot of political analysts. They believe that this is also a diplomatic event, it's a geopolitical event, Pamela, for a region that is very tense right now, where you have got the Iranian war still basically raging on and affecting a lot of the Gulf states.

And we know that Israel takes massive protocols and security very seriously for any flights that do land in Israel. It is a very popular route between Dubai and Tel Aviv, keeping in mind the UAE has normalized with Israel. So these flights are extremely crucial for the region And movement of people.

BROWN: All right, Eleni Giokos, thank you so much.

And let's bring in CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas. He is also the director of the Counterterrorism Program at the Atlantic Council.

So, Alex, Israel has some of the strictest aviation protocols in the world. Are you surprised that this attack got as far as it did?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: No, because the protocol is really focused to -- on external security threats to an aircraft, from the passengers to potential outside terrorists. And even the security measures that are put into place after 9/11, such as locking the cockpit doors on the inside, were really meant to prevent an external threat.

So where this is rare is that you had a pilot or a co-pilot who happened to be in the cockpit, has gone undiscovered for one reason or another. Whether this was a lone wolf or this was part of a larger conspiracy involving a state or a terrorist organization isn't known. But it simply wasn't discovered.

So this pretty much exploited most of the loopholes in the system.

BROWN: If this is in fact terrorism, wouldn't you expect a very public claim of responsibility?

PLITSAS: Yes, and that's exactly right.

So terrorism only works if you're if your political cause is known, because it's defined as politically motivated violence against civilians. So, a terrorist, whether it's an individual or a group, would commit some sort of act of violence against the civilians or group of civilians in the hopes of getting some sort of policy outcome.

In this particular case, if you had a pilot or a co-pilot who was going to just crash the plane in the ground, if there's no manifesto that they had written or there's no claim of responsibility for a terrorist group, it doesn't really serve a wider political cause.

It's more akin to those car rammings that we see in the West Bank recently, where you have got an individual who's angry about political events in the region, with the war in Gaza or something else, where they're running over Israeli soldiers, but they may not necessarily belong to a group or they haven't released a public statement.

So it's unclear at this point whether the co-pilot, who's being alleged to be the one to stab the pilot, whether that individual was a lone wolf, self-radicalized, or a member of an organization or wider conspiracy. That simply isn't known yet.

BROWN: And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just spoke about this. Let's take a listen.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): 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 fight as they approached Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the second one and probably tried to crash the plane and all its passengers. I spoke with one of the passengers. And he told me that the plane went into turbulence and started to sink and that, in a way, somehow he managed to -- broke into the cockpit and together with the other pilot they neutralize the stabber.

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 land -- 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)

BROWN: So, Alex, how remarkable is it that an Israeli-bound aircraft landed in -- I should say Israel-bound aircraft landed in Saudi Arabia, given the lack of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries?

PLITSAS: Yes, so it's not the first time that's happened. I believe the last time, I think MBS actually showed up himself, if I'm not mistaken, to welcome folks. I will have to go back and look at that to make sure.

But it is unprecedented, because, you're right, they don't have relations. The opening of airspace and the ability to fly over and relations have been warming over the years, but they still haven't reached anywhere near normalization.

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And that's been a big goal for Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government, because there's a belief that many -- many of the other countries that have held out in the region on normalizing through the Abraham Accords would do so, but only after Saudi Arabia did so, as the keepers of the two mosques, the focal point for the Islamic faith.

And so, since that hasn't happened, it's kept other countries from joining. So it's been warming, but, to your point, there's no relation, so it's a very unusual occurrence, but not the first time.

BROWN: All right, Alex Plitsas, thank you so much for coming on.

And now to more breaking news that we're following. I have obtained a six-page written statement signed by Jane Doe, the former Cornell University student who alleged that she was drugged and raped inside a fraternity house in 2024 in a recent civil suit.

It includes accounts that she gave to Cornell police weeks after the alleged incident. And according to the documents, Jane Doe told Cornell police she was heavily intoxicated. In a transcript, she told police she was -- quote -- "OK, pretty OK" with the initial sexual activity, but did not consent to what occurred later in the night.

In her written statement, Jane Doe said she consented to some sexual acts, but refused others, including a foursome proposed by a fraternity brother. She also described thinking that, if she passed out, that the men could be charged with -- quote -- "rape" if they had sex with her, the only mention of rape in her written statement.

No criminal charges were brought afterward. Tompkins County district attorney Matthew Van Houten tells CNN -- quote -- "I will be looking into whether the reports of her initial comments are 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 P.D. I will be investigating this fully and determining the truth."

A lot to unpack here.

And to better understand all of this, we go to our Brynn Gingras.

First of all, Brynn, how are students reacting to this investigation being reopened?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think there's a mixture of surprised and also disbelief, and also not surprise, because they feared that it's possible this has happened before and no one heard about it, which is what everybody is sort of worried about.

Like, did -- could this have happened before and it was never reported? So thank goodness for the people who did report this out. But let's hear from some of the students on campus. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a lot of administrative distrust. I don't think students feel comfortable going to anyone like vaguely were associated with administration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think a lot of people already have this understanding that the university has disappointed them time and again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: And, Pam, great job on getting that statement, because it provides so many details about what Jane Doe said happened not only that night, but also following up to the point of where she reported this to police, but it also opens again so many questions at this point.

Who knew what when, what was investigated when, what information was given to the district attorney's office, what information wasn't given to the district attorney's office, why were charges never filed based on the information just from this written statement, it's still very unclear.

So that's probably where some of this frustrate -- frustration, rather, still lies, with not only the student body, but everybody who's sort of following this story at this point. But, certainly, this written statement, it gives so many details of what happened, and there are so many questions, like I'm saying, that we're bringing all those questions to the district attorney there that has reopened the investigation into this, but also to Cornell and the university and its police department.

Again, what information was shared, not only at the time, but also since this civil lawsuit was filed by Jane Doe and her attorney?

BROWN: And from our understanding from talking to the DA, who was on our show yesterday, the seven defendants in this civil suit were not initially interviewed by police as part of this investigation. Can you tell us more about how their lawyers are responding to this?

GINGRAS: Yes, well, we haven't even really heard from all of the attorneys, right? Some people are basically saying that they were not culpable in it in some of this, and also just reviewing this lawsuit at this point.

So we're still trying to get answers as well from these attorneys of these seven individuals. But, again, to your credit, this written statement gives a lot more details that we will be bringing more questions to them with.

BROWN: Yes, certainly, the more information the better to just understand all of this. Brynn, thank you for helping us better understand the different pieces

of this. We appreciate it.

And still ahead: repeal and refund. We will ask Senator Kirsten Gillibrand about her push to get back President Trump's tariff money.

And then, later: the Trump administration's crackdown on suspected voter fraud with the midterms barely a month away.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM, and we will be right back.

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[11:19:39]

BROWN: Breaking news out of the Middle East.

Passengers from the diverted Flydubai flight are now on their way back to Tel Aviv. This is according to flight tracking data. And these are some live pictures of Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. A new Flydubai plane was sent to Saudi Arabia to pick up the passengers who landed there after their original flight was diverted following what officials said was an attempted hijacking.

[11:20:03]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot stabbed the other and then apparently tried to crash the plane.

Here now is Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. She serves on the Armed Services and Intelligence committees.

First of all, what is your reaction to all of this?

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): It sounds deeply concerning.

We're a country and a city that was harmed by hijackers. And we just came from the 25th anniversary of 9/11. So this type of story sounds deeply familiar and very concerning.

BROWN: So, I want to ask you about another issue dealing with Armed Services. You're on the committee.

Just hours from now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will give the State of the Force Address. And he's expected to announce plans to cut the number of positions reserved for generals and admirals by 20 percent. Two Pentagon officials say that's double the reduction to senior positions he ordered last year.

What is your reaction to this expected major shakeup?

GILLIBRAND: Well, I have grave concerns about Secretary Hegseth's leadership. It's one of the reasons why I voted against his nomination.

He has continued to cut generals, particularly female generals, people of color. He's just really destroying so many aspects of the military services that are there to protect our country, to make good judgment and good decisions.

So I just have deep questions about why he would be cutting some of the most highly trained, most qualified people within the armed services. He also dismissed the entire section whose job was to make sure we don't have civilian harm. He's not answered questions honestly about the use of AI in targeting.

He's been unwilling to provide clarity about the war in Iran. This administration and Pete Hegseth want $1.5 trillion for military, showing that they want unlimited money for bombs. They have plenty of money for billionaires and ballrooms, but yet sufficient money for regular people who are working hard for food, for housing, and for health care.

It's just deeply demoralizing the direction this secretary is taking.

BROWN: And you believe he should resign? Is that right?

GILLIBRAND: I have called on him to resign many times over almost all of these issues, most recently over the hitting of a girls' school in Iran, the fact that he continues to prosecute a war that the American people have not had a chance to even support.

There's been no congressional approval, and again, asking for unlimited money for his bombs waging this war, when this administration refuses to fund things like Medicaid.

BROWN: But isn't -- in terms of the war itself, it's more up to President Trump, right, as the commander in chief and getting that sign-off, right?

GILLIBRAND: President Trump is bringing this country in the wrong direction on all these issues, but Secretary Hegseth is an enabler, and he is unwilling to do his job as the secretary of defense to prosecute wars properly, to have civilian harm reduction as part of his military services.

He's firing people not based on qualifications, but how they look, the color of their skin. These are all red flags that this is a secretary of defense who does not know how to lead our country productively to keep Americans safer.

BROWN: You're also calling for congressional hearings after the Navy confirmed to you in a letter that eight sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln fleet -- we should note there you have the U.S. -- the carrier, and then you have the fleet -- that there were attempted suicides.

So, what more have you learned about the conditions on board?, not just the carrier itself, which I was an embed on for three days back in July, but also just the other warships around it, where there were attempted suicides as well?

GILLIBRAND: Well, this goes to the lack of leadership of Secretary Hegseth again and ultimately President Trump, deploying our service members for months upon months, far longer than they expected, not giving them the dwell time, the time at home that they need to recuperate and be ready to continue to go back into combat over and over again.

We wrote a letter asking, what is the status and well-being of the service members that are deployed, and the answer we got was shocking. Eight people have attempted suicide on these warships. Two threw themselves overboard, which, according to experts, is the most extreme scenario you can imagine being a sailor on a warship.

And so I have serious questions about how Secretary Hegseth is leading this military and ultimately President Trump.

BROWN: I want to turn to another issue, and that is this Cornell rape civil suit that is getting a lot of attention.

You have called the allegations -- quote -- "serious and terrific." You and Republican Senator Chuck Grassley have introduced legislation to combat sexual assault on college campuses, but that bill was never passed.

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What role can Congress play here?

GILLIBRAND: Well, we should pass our legislation immediately.

What it does is create rules of the road so that every student is protected on campus. We have to make sure that there's a person who's highly trained to receive these allegations in the first instance, to tell a survivor what his or her rights are, what opportunities she has to report either through a civilian system, through a college system, or through a criminal system.

She or he is given just the basic tools of advocacy about what's going to happen to their lives and whether the school will provide accommodations. And then you need a process that is a highly informed process that is legitimate and doesn't pit one student against another unfairly in a circumstance that doesn't actually resolve to justice.

And so we need reform on all of these college campuses. It's not right that kids go off to school and are not safe. It's not right that what happened in this instance doesn't appear to have been assessed properly. So I'm grateful that the DA is looking at it again.

BROWN: All right, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, nice to have you back on the show. Thank you.

GILLIBRAND: Thank you.

BROWN: And just ahead, breaking news out of Tennessee.

A federal appeals court has stopped what would have been the state's first execution of a woman in more than 200 years. What we're learning up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)