{
  "id": 11252631,
  "title": "Plumber who helped save flydubai flight credits TV air disaster series",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/plumber-who-helped-save-flydubai-flight-credits-tv-air-disaster-series-11252631",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-01T17:48:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/10/1545857/plumber-who-helped-save-flydubai-flight-credits-tv-air-disaster-series"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Yaniv Hayoun, a plumber, played a crucial role in preventing a crash on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. After helping to overpower the co-pilot who had stabbed the captain, Hayoun entered the cockpit and took control of the aircraft, pulling back on the levers to stabilize it. Initially, the plane plummeted thousands of feet within minutes before being brought under control. Hayoun credited the TV series Mayday, which examines aviation disasters using real-life audio recordings, eyewitness accounts, and interviews with experts, for giving him the knowledge to handle the situation. The aircraft eventually made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, with a second off-duty crew member taking over the controls. The stabbed captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, is in stable condition in the hospital and has been hailed as a true hero. The motive behind the co-pilot's actions remains unknown, and authorities are investigating the incident in the United Arab Emirates. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the encounter with Hayoun in an interview with US broadcaster CBS, where the plumber revealed his occupation as a sewage unclogger.",
  "summary": "TEL AVIV: One of the passengers who overpowered the attacker on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv and prevented a crash said a TV series about aviation disasters helped him know what to do in the cockpit, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Plumber who helped save flydubai flight credits TV air disaster series",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/plumber-who-helped-save-flydubai-flight-credits-tv-air-disaster-series",
        "published": "2026-10-01T14:45:40.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}