Pilot Of Spanish Plane That Expelled 50 Jewish Children Trained 9/11 Hijackers, Including Ringleader

The pilot who kicked roughly 50 Jewish children and teenagers visiting Spain off a flight from Valencia to Paris trained two of the 9/11 hijackers, including Mohamed Atta, the ringleader of the plot that lead to the deaths of 3,000 Americans.

Vueling Airlines confirmed that Ivan Chirivella was the pilot who removed the Jewish teenagers from a Wednesday flight. The children, who were attending summer camp, were on their way to Paris.

“Many of the children were wearing tzitzit and Star of David symbols, and their singing is said to have been consistent with customs of Jewish youth groups,” Israel National News reported, adding, “Flight crew reportedly asked the children to stop singing. When they did not comply, local police were called. Officers instructed the group to place their cell phones on the ground to prevent the incident from being recorded.”

“Chirivella has previously made headlines after his realization that he taught Mohamed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi to fly at Jones Aviation prior to the attacks of 9/11.  A year before the World Trade Center attacks, Chirivella flew with the two future hijackers nearly every day for several months,” The Jewish Chronicle reported.

Actualización – Comunicado de Vueling en relación con el desembarque por comportamiento conflictivo en el vuelo VY8166 pic.twitter.com/ksAFHogFeW

— Vueling Airlines (@vueling) July 25, 2025

“Iván Chirivella, originally from the Canary Islands and a Vueling pilot since 2006, operated the flight,” the airline shared. “Throughout his 19-year career with the airline, he has accumulated more than 12,500 flight hours, covering routes connecting to more than 30 countries. In addition to his role as captain, Iván Chirivella—like many pilots—also works as an instructor for aviation professionals at an independent flight school,” the airline posted.

A group leader was reportedly thrown to the ground, handcuffed and taken into custody when she protested the way police had intervened. “She was later released after signing a non-disclosure agreement, according to witnesses,” Israel National News noted.

A mother of one of the children told i24NEWS that flight staff threatened him for singing in Hebrew. “If you continue, we will call the police,” she said the staff told him.

The airline issued a statement saying that a “group of teenagers displayed disruptive and confrontational behavior,” adding, “The cabin crew was alerted that the group of teenagers was tampering with passenger safety equipment, posing a high risk to the aircraft, passengers, and crew. These actions included attempts to grab life jackets, tamper with overhead oxygen masks, and remove the high-pressure oxygen cylinder—conduct that potentially poses a serious hazard in the cabin.”

“As with any other incident involving safety, the captain was forced to request the intervention of the Civil Guard. After assessing the situation, the Civil Guard proceeded to disembark the group to safeguard the safety of the remaining passengers,” the airline stated.

But testimony came from at least one of the children that the airline was not telling the truth.

Breaking: One of the French Jewish teenagers thrown off a plane in Spain testifies about what happened and what was said to cause such a reaction. pic.twitter.com/SfgUORxs6H

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) July 25, 2025

In addition, a passenger on the flight who was a religious Christian seated in the eighth row said the children behaved politely and there was no reason for concern.

🚨✈️ EXCLUSIVE TESTIMONY FROM A PASSENGER ON VUELING FLIGHT VY8166 🇪🇸

50 French Jewish teenagers, aged 15, were expelled from a @vueling flight… because one of them simply said the word “Limot” (meaning “the days” in Hebrew), attempting (unsuccessfully) to start a summer camp… pic.twitter.com/cFCpI6wODk

— SwordOfSalomon (@SwordOfSalomon) July 24, 2025