Passenger recounts subduing attacker who stabbed co-pilot on Flydubai flight

Passengers on a Flydubai flight bound for Israel have shared harrowing details of how they subdued a pilot who stabbed his colleague and attempted to disable the aircraft, an event that caused the plane to drop sharply through the sky.

Yaniv Hayun, who appeared before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wearing a blood-stained shirt, recounted that the terror began when the aircraft suddenly dropped. The Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight lost 17,000ft (5,200m) in under two minutes. “Someone screamed… the light went out,” Hayun told Netanyahu in a video statement.

Hayun and other passengers attempted to force open the cockpit door but found the injured pilot blocking the entrance. Just before collapsing, the wounded aviator managed to open the door, allowing Hayun and another man to enter. Inside, they discovered one pilot on the floor and the attacker positioned between the seats, reportedly trying to destroy the instruments to crash the plane.

“I grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and pulled him – first and foremost – outside,” Hayun said. He described how two other Israeli men on board helped pin the suspect down. Once secure, Hayun returned to the cockpit and took control of the aircraft’s controls.

When asked by the Prime Minister if he knew what he was doing with the flight controls, Hayun replied, “I watch Air Crash Investigation, Mr Prime Minister.” He noted that the plane began to level out, and duty pilots who had been in the cabin soon arrived to take over the landing.

Netanyahu praised Hayun as a “great hero” and a “lion.” Another passenger, Zvika Meness, confirmed that he and two others restrained the attacker using zip ties and multimedia headphones before a replacement pilot landed the aircraft.

The flight was diverted to Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Passengers were later repatriated to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, where they were greeted by crowds waving Israeli flags and playing music. Passenger Haim Lazarovich told journalists, “Thank God I’m alive,” while 18-year-old Oran Choen described the ordeal as “hell,” recalling his brother screaming that they were going to die.

The stabbed pilot, identified as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, remains in stable condition at a hospital, according to the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu hailed Machchhar as a “true hero” of “extraordinary bravery.” The attacker has been arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz characterized the incident as an “attempted jihadist terror attack,” though no official motive has been released. Medical personnel reported that several passengers were emotionally distraught and crying as they disembarked.