Additional details have emerged regarding the rescue of more than 180 people aboard Flydubai FZ 1073, which was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on the morning of September 30.
An hour before landing, over Jordanian airspace, the first officer, an Omani national, attacked captain Smit Machhar, an Indian citizen, with a knife—or an emergency crash axe, according to another account. A fight broke out between the pilots, leaving the captain severely injured. The attacker forced the aircraft into a dive in an apparent attempt to cause a crash, sending the plane plunging roughly four kilometers in altitude in 30 seconds.
Despite critical injuries and fading consciousness, the captain managed to unlock the cockpit door.
Passengers Take Control of Flydubai FZ 1073
Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayoun was the first to enter the cockpit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who greeted the passengers at Ben Gurion Airport, credited Hayoun with saving the aircraft. Hayoun was traveling on the flight with his wife and two daughters.
Hayoun told Netanyahu: “We pushed the door open. The captain, who had been stabbed, was lying right against it, making it extremely difficult to open, but we managed. When I got inside, I saw the attacker at the controls, between the seats. Neither pilot was in their chair: one was on the floor, the other was over the instruments. Another passenger entered with me. I grabbed the attacker—I didn’t choke him, I just dragged him out.“
Describing the attacker’s actions, Hayoun added: “He was trying to destroy the instruments to disable the plane. We dragged him out within seconds. The aircraft was already pitched nose-down.“
Hayoun called on other passengers for help and returned to the flight deck: “I started pulling the control column back. Fortunately, I had watched the show ‘Air Crash Investigation.’” According to Hayoun, the aircraft began to level out slightly, at which point an off-duty pilot traveling as a relief crew member entered the cockpit.
According to ABC, Hayoun works as a plumber. The television series Air Crash Investigation, which he referenced, has aired since 2003 and reconstructs real aviation accidents using expert analysis and eyewitness accounts.
Struggle in the Cabin and Rescuing the Captain
Another passenger who intervened was Zvika Mants, who helped subdue the first officer alongside three other passengers.
“We started to realize something was wrong when the plane began losing altitude. My wife went to the restroom with our daughter and heard screams and strange noises coming from the cockpit,” Mants said.
Mants described the fight with the assailant: “We struggled with him for about twenty minutes. Meanwhile, one of us (Yaniv Hayoun) ran to the yoke and began stabilizing the aircraft, which was diving. We dragged the attacker into the cabin, and an off-duty pilot entered the cockpit, followed by another. There was a lot of blood; the plane was descending rapidly like in a horror movie, making screeching sounds. It was a terrifying ordeal until the pilot stabilized the airliner.“
Mants noted that the attacker intentionally steered the aircraft toward the ground as passengers were thrown around and screamed. “Later, we tied him up and restrained him using a headphone cable. It took considerable physical effort—he is a strong man and was likely fueled by adrenaline.“
A third passenger, Assaf Rajwan, sustained minor injuries while helping subdue the attacker. Alongside Zvika Mants, he pulled the assailant from the cockpit and held him down for roughly 55 minutes until the plane landed.
Dentist Shota Musaev, who also took part in subduing the attacker, worked with another passenger—a nurse whose name has not been released—to save the captain’s life.
“The pilot was critically injured, bleeding heavily from his head and hands. I was the only medical professional on board. I managed to stop the bleeding completely. His condition was relatively stable, though it deteriorated slightly during the final moments of landing,” Musaev said.
“Several passengers acted heroically,” he added. “We gained control of the attacker and tied him up. It was difficult, but we succeeded. In moments like that, you don’t think—you just act. If we hadn’t, we wouldn’t be speaking right now.“
Landing the Damaged Aircraft and Investigation
Little is known about the two relief pilots who took control and landed the plane. Flydubai officially refers to them as relief crew, but their names and photographs are being withheld from the press for security reasons. They landed the heavily damaged aircraft under extreme risk.
Photographs of the Boeing 737 MAX after landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, showed that a significant portion of the rudder—the movable section of the vertical stabilizer on the tail—was torn away or missing entirely.
When the first officer put the airliner into a dive, excessive speed and aerodynamic stress caused the tail assembly to buckle and begin breaking apart in midair. Aviation experts cited by The Guardian noted that the aircraft staying intact during the pullout from the dive was remarkable.
The attacker remains in custody in Saudi Arabia, where the flight made its emergency landing. Benjamin Netanyahu stated that under international cooperation protocols, the suspect will likely be transferred to authorities in the United Arab Emirates for questioning and formal legal proceedings.
The motive behind the first officer’s actions has not been made public. Intelligence and security services from several nations, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, and Oman, are investigating potential motives ranging from a psychological crisis to an act of terrorism.
