Passengers Lockdown a Pilot After Stabbing on Flydubai Flight to Israel
A Flydubai aircraft bound for Tel Aviv experienced a startling security breach when Captain Smit Machchhar was attacked by a fellow pilot in the cockpit. The assailant stabbed him and attempted to sabotage the flight by damaging instrumental panels.
In the chaos, passenger Yaniv Hayun and a small group of others forced their way into the cockpit. Hayun grabbed the attacker, placed him in a chokehold, and pushed him out of the cockpit as swiftly as possible. He later described how he was able to take over the flight controls, saying he had previously watched “Air Crash Investigation.”
The aircraft plunged 17,000 feet in less than two minutes before stabilising as the onboard pilot and two other crew members in the cabin secured the plane. Ly‑chand was transported to a hospital in Saudi Arabia in stable condition, while the attacker has been arrested by Saudi authorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Hayun as a “great hero” and the co‑pilot as a “true hero.” Defence Minister Israel Katz described the event as an “attempted jihadist terror attack.” The flight eventually landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, before passengers were flown to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport where crowds greeted them with music and Israeli flags.
