‘I watch Air Crash Investigation’: How Israeli passenger controlled plummeting flydubai jet after co-pilot stabbed captain
An Israeli passenger, who took control of an Israel-bound flydubai passenger jet after its pilot was stabbed and wounded by the co-pilot during an apparent hijacking attempt told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he knew how to control the aircraft because, “I watch Air Crash Investigation.”In a video posted by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, the man told Netanyahu how passengers restrained the co-pilot, reportedly an Omani citizen, after the captain, an Indian national, managed to open the cockpit door despite being seriously wounded.Also Read | ‘India is proud’: PM Modi lauds Flydubai pilot Machchhar after cockpit attackIsraeli media identified the passenger as Yaniv Hayun.“I jumped back into it (the cockpit) and pulled the controls. I started pulling the…,” Hayun said in Hebrew, before Netanyahu interjected: “You pulled the controls? You knew?”“Yes, because I watch Air Crash Investigations, Mr Prime Minister. And then the plane started to level out, a bit more. And then the pilot told me he was taking control from there,” he added, as Netanyahu burst into laughter.Israeli media reported that two off-duty flydubai pilots who were on the flight as they were due to operate another flydubai flight then took over. The plane later made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia.Also Read | ‘A hero’: Trump hails Indian captain after Flydubai attack, calls co-pilot ‘perhaps a terrorist’Meanwhile, earlier in the conversation, Hayun informed Netanyahu how passengers rushed into the cockpit after the wounded captain managed to open the door.“…because of the pressure, a force like that pulled me down. And standing at the door was someone else in a white shirt, I assume it was the pilot because inside there were two pilots, and outside two pilots happened to be sitting in the cabin,” Hayun said.“He and I pushed the door,” the man further stated, apparently referring to another passenger. He added that the stabbed pilot was very close to the entry, making it difficult for passengers to initially break in.At this point, Netanyahu asked Hayun whether anyone had managed to open the cockpit door. The man replied in the affirmative, saying the pilot was able to open it before collapsing.Hayun then described how the plane began to descend – the jet plummeted 17,400 feet in less than two minutes, according to flight-tracking data.“The plane’s nose was like this (hand gesture)… I called out to the Israeli guys with us on the plane and two other guys came over to me. We pinned him (co-pilot) down to keep him (pilot) secure,” he said.The Indian pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Saudi Arabia and is in stable condition, according to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.The incident occurred just days before the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, and amid the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran, raising security concerns. The Israeli Knesset elections are also scheduled for October 27.
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