{
  "id": 11936933,
  "title": "Hero passengers on FlyDubai flight speak",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/hero-passengers-on-flydubai-flight-speak",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-04T13:57:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "CBS News",
    "slug": "cbs-news",
    "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hero-passenger-on-flydubai-flight-i-decided-that-we-are-going-to-survive/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Wednesday, Daniel Schlichter, Zvika Manes, Tal Samuel and Asaf Rajuan were strangers on FlyDubai Flight 1073. By Friday, they were not strangers; they were heroes. The Boeing 737 Max was plummeting nearly at the speed of sound, with the co-pilot attempting to crash the plane into the Arabian Desert. Captain Smit Machchhar was locked in a fierce struggle with the co-pilot, who was reportedly a banned individual in Oman due to extremist beliefs.\n\nThe passengers found themselves in a situation that might have been their last. Manes recounted the terror, \"The first thing that went up is actually 9/11. And I said, How can it be? How can we end this life like that?\"\n\nSeeing his family, Manes made the decision to save them: \"Almost simultaneously, these passengers decided they had to take action. I saw my daughter and my wife, and I understand that I must run.\" Together with Samuel, they sprinted towards the bleeding captain.\n\nThey overpowered the co-pilot, who was later identified as a terrorist, and placed him in the cockpit. Samuel noted, \"He tried to resist, and we didn't know if he has a knife.\" Meanwhile, Dr. Shota Musaev, an off-duty dentist, began treating Machchhar's injuries.\n\nThe plane began to descend, but the passengers managed to stabilize it. The nearest airport, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, was not under Israeli jurisdiction, so they were not arrested but welcomed. The captain recovered, and Musaev continues to care for him. Musaev said, \"If he hadn't been smart and heroic, we would not be alive. And if we hadn't been heroes, he would not be alive.\"",
  "summary": "\"Sunday Morning\" talked with passengers who heroically helped avert disaster this past Wednesday by subduing the co-pilot attempting to crash their Boeing 737 Max into the Arabian Desert.",
  "key_points": [
    "Four passengers, Schlichter, Manes, Samuel, and Rajuan, became heroes on FlyDubai Flight 1073.",
    "Co-pilot, a banned individual in Oman, attempted to crash the plane into the Arabian Desert.",
    "Passengers overpowered the co-pilot, identified as a terrorist, and stabilized the plane."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/11936933.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "France 24",
        "title": "Who are the mystery pilots who successfully landed endangered Flydubai flight 1073?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/who-are-the-mystery-pilots-who-successfully-landed-endangered",
        "published": "2026-10-04T09:36:47.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CityNews",
        "title": "UAE had shared details about FlyDubai flight with Israel, including pilots’ names and nationalities",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/uae-had-shared-details-about-flydubai-flight-with-israel-including-11920399",
        "published": "2026-10-04T10:22:56.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "UAE had shared details about FlyDubai flight with Israel, including pilots’ names and nationalities",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/uae-had-shared-details-about-flydubai-flight-with-israel-including",
        "published": "2026-10-04T10:22:56.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Hero passenger on FlyDubai flight: \"I decided that we are going to survive\"",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/hero-passenger-on-flydubai-flight-i-decided-that-we-are-going-to",
        "published": "2026-10-04T13:26:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "PBS NewsHour",
        "title": "AP report: UAE had shared details about FlyDubai flight with Israel, including pilots' names and nationalities",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/ap-report-uae-had-shared-details-about-flydubai-flight-with-israel",
        "published": "2026-10-04T16:14:24.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}