Yaniv Hayun has spoken publicly about the moment he stormed the cockpit of a plunging Boeing 737 and placed a knife-wielding co-pilot in a chokehold.
The Israeli passenger, whose actions helped save 174 lives aboard flydubai flight FZ1073, recounted the chaotic scene to the BBC in the days after the May 2025 incident. The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv had been cruising at altitude when the aircraft abruptly dropped thousands of feet, pitching violently as screams erupted from the flight deck.
“When I entered, I saw the attacker on the instruments, between the two seats… There were no pilots in the seats. One was down, one was on the instruments,” Hayun recalled.
“The pilot was trying to destroy the instruments in order to disable the plane. I grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and pulled him—first and foremost—outside.”
Hayun was assisted by fellow passengers and cabin crew members in subduing the assailant. They wrestled him into the galley, where the group physically pinned and bound the knife-wielding co-pilot before he could complete what investigators believe was an attempted sabotage of the aircraft’s control systems.
The man Hayun overpowered had already inflicted severe damage. The co-pilot had produced a blade and repeatedly stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar, the pilot-in-command, leaving him with bleeding wounds to his head and hands. Despite his injuries, Machchhar managed a desperate counterattack and used his final strength to hit the door release—a split-second decision that allowed Hayun and others to intervene.
An Israeli passenger seated near the front, identified only as Daniel, described the terror in the cabin as the plane went into its steep dive.
“Suddenly I heard a struggle. Something like a fight coming from the cockpit,” Daniel said.
“It felt like an eternity, but I think it was two or three minutes, during which the plane was simply diving and spinning like crazy. It felt like, that’s it. It’s over. September 11 is happening again.”
With the assailant restrained, an off-duty commercial pilot traveling as a passenger quickly assumed the flight controls. This unidentified flyer pulled the Boeing 737 out of its steep dive and leveled the wings as the aircraft continued toward an emergency destination. Simultaneously, an onboard doctor rushed forward to administer critical trauma first aid, working to stem Machchhar’s heavy blood loss before the plane touched down.
The aircraft made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where Captain Machchhar received urgent medical attention for his stab wounds.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the extraordinary bravery displayed throughout the ordeal, singling out Machchhar for particular recognition.
“My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery,” Netanyahu said, according to India Today. “Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker—preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster. He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals.”
Netanyahu characterized Machchhar as a “true hero” whose courage averted mass slaughter. The prime minister’s framing of the incident as a near-miss catastrophe echoed the language used by multiple passengers who feared a deliberate crash reminiscent of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The co-pilot’s motive remained under investigation by multiple authorities, with Israeli officials examining whether the cockpit stabbing constituted an attempted terror attack. The assailant’s identity and nationality were not immediately disclosed in available coverage.
Captain Machchhar had spoken publicly in 2024 about the vital importance of having a reliable team while flying, a statement that took on additional resonance in light of the betrayal he faced from his own co-pilot.
The flight, which had been routine until the cockpit breach, demonstrated how quickly standard aviation security protocols could be compromised by an insider threat rather than an external one.
Flydubai flight FZ1073 operated as a scheduled service between Dubai and Tel Aviv, a route that had seen increased demand following the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.