Flydubai passenger describes putting attacker in chokehold after cockpit stabbing
Other passengers on the Israel-bound flight described the "terrifying" moment the plane dropped.
Passengers on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv recounted their experience of subduing an attacker who had stabbed the other pilot. Yaniv Hayun, who put the attacker in a chokehold, described the aircraft dropping 17,000ft in under two minutes. The plane suddenly dropped, causing screams and darkness, before he managed to open the cockpit door and find one pilot down and another attacking the instruments.
Hayun and another man restrained the assailant outside the cockpit in mere seconds. He then returned to the cockpit, where pilots had taken control. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended Hayun, calling him a "great hero" and a "lion." Another passenger, Zvika Meness, helped overpower the attacker, tying him up with zip ties and headphones.
The plane eventually landed at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia, where passengers were met with cheering crowds. One passenger, Haim Lazarovich, called the moment the pilot lost control the most terrifying. The stabbed pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, was taken to a hospital in stable condition. The attacker, an Indian national, is in custody and under questioning.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as a potential jihadist terror attack. No further details about the motive were provided.
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