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'It was like a horror film': How Flydubai pilot was restrained with headphones

Read the original at Times of India ↗
Cite

Vasistha, Y. (2026, September 30). 'It was like a horror film': How Flydubai pilot was restrained with headphones. Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/it-was-like-a-horror-film-israeli-passenger-recounts-restraining-flydubai-pilot-with-headphones-after-cockpit-struggle/articleshow/134600343.cms

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Times of India · collected 2026-09-30 · by Yashasvi Vasistha
Content note This article describes violence described in detail.

Quick Summary

During a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, an Israeli passenger named Tzika Manes helped restrain a co-pilot who was accused of attempting to crash the aircraft. The incident began when Manes and two other passengers intervened as the plane started to nosedive after the pilot fell from the cockpit while being attacked by the co-pilot. Using corded headphones, they restrained the attacker for about 25 minutes before another passenger managed to regain control of the aircraft. The flight was diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia and later returned to Israel with around 180 passengers.
Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 30, 2026, a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv signaled an emergency and was diverted to land at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. The incident initially raised concerns about a possible hijacking, prompting Israel to scramble warplanes. However, Israeli officials later reported that the emergency signals were due to a physical altercation between the plane's two pilots rather than a hijacking attempt.

The flight, identified as Flydubai Flight FZ1073, transmitted multiple emergency alerts after takeoff and over Jordanian airspace before landing safely in Saudi Arabia. Passengers on board managed to overpower the attacker, who was later identified by UAE officials as Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami. Al-Hammami allegedly attempted to crash the plane into Tel Aviv's airport but was stopped by passengers.

UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi stated that signs of al-Hammami’s radicalization first emerged in 2017 while he was studying engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. He reportedly became influenced by extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organizations during this period.

Written for “Flydubai Hijacker's Radicalization Path” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 345 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Flydubai Hijacker's Radicalization Path
Crime & Law · 346 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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What we know so far about alleged stabbing of pilot by co-pilot on flight to Israel Same event
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Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
59/100
Times of India's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
346
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Times of India · 3776 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)
2026-10-05
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2026-10-04
Tennessee prison chief Frank Strada resigns after Christa Pike's botched execution

Who wrote this

Yashasvi Vasistha
38 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 38 articles by Yashasvi Vasistha →

Topics

Channel 12 Israel Israeli The Times of Israel flydubai

Subjects

Manes PERSON · 5× Israeli NORP · 3× The Times of Israel ORG · 3× Yaniv PERSON · 3× Channel 12 ORG · 2× Israel GPE · 2× Israelis NORP · 2× Netanyahu PERSON · 2× Saudi Arabia GPE · 2× flydubai ORG · 2×

Narrative

An Israeli passenger who helped restrain the flydubai co-pilot accused of trying to take control of the aircraft and crash it has recounted how he and two other passengers intervened as the plane began to nosedive.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30
🔮 He described the experience as a “horror film”, saying there were moments when he believed he would not survive.
2026-09-30 · Times of India
'It was like a horror film': How Flydubai pilot was restrained with headphones · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 2 hedged)

An Israeli passenger who helped restrain the flydubai co-pilot accused of trying to take control of the aircraft and crash it has recounted how he and two other passengers intervened as the plane began to nosedive. asserted
plane → help → it
Tzika Manes told Israel's Channel 12, as reported by The Times of Israel, that the incident began when his wife was accompanying their young daughter to the bathroom at the front of the aircraft. asserted
wife → tell → aircraft
She heard screams and sounds of a struggle coming from the cockpit and alerted a flydubai flight attendant. asserted
She → hear → attendant
Pilot falls from cockpit as struggle unfolds Manes said the pilot then fell through the cockpit door while the co-pilot was stabbing him. asserted
pilot → fall → him
As the struggle continued, the aircraft began to lose altitude dramatically, causing passengers to be thrown around the cabin. asserted
passengers → continue → cabin
Manes said he pulled his daughter out of the bathroom before moving towards the attacker. asserted
he → say → attacker
Two other Israeli passengers joined him in trying to subdue the alleged attacker. asserted
passengers → join → attacker
One of them, identified as Yaniv, managed to take hold of the aircraft's controls and pull the plane back upwards as it began to nosedive. asserted
it → identify → plane
The Times of Israel reported that Yaniv later told Netanyahu he had entered the cockpit and found the alleged attacker at the controls. asserted
he → report → controls
He said he grabbed the man and pulled him away before returning to the cockpit when he realised the aircraft was tilting sharply. asserted
aircraft → say → cockpit
Yaniv said he pulled the controls and managed to level the aircraft somewhat before another pilot took over. asserted
pilot → say → aircraft
Passengers used headphones to restrain attacker Manes said it took around 20 to 25 minutes for the three Israeli passengers to subdue the alleged attacker. asserted
it → use → attacker
They used corded headphones to tie him up. asserted
They → use → him
A doctor travelling on the flight separately helped stabilise the injured pilot, Manes said. asserted
Manes → travel → pilot
He described the experience as a “horror film”, saying there were moments when he believed he would not survive. asserted
he → describe → film
Manes also recalled his daughters screaming, “We don’t want to die,” as the plane nosedived, describing it as “something traumatic for any father to hear.” “It was a very difficult scenario… but because we’re Israelis, so we responded quickly,” he told Channel 12, according to The Times of Israel. uncertain
he → recall → Israel
Flight diverted to Saudi Arabia asserted
Flight → divert → Arabia
The flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia after the altercation in the cockpit. asserted
flight → divert → cockpit
The aircraft had transmitted emergency signals and sharply lost altitude before landing safely. asserted
aircraft → transmit → altitude
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said one pilot stabbed the other and apparently tried to crash the aircraft, while passengers and crew members intervened to prevent the plane from being brought down. asserted
passengers → say → plane
The captain and first officer were injured and taken to hospital, according to the Tabuk airport authorities cited by news agency AP. uncertain
captain → injure → AP
Flydubai confirmed that an “altercation occurred in the flight deck” and said the aircraft was secured by the on-duty crew before being diverted and landed safely. asserted
aircraft → confirm → crew
The plane later returned to Israel with around 180 passengers, most of them Israelis. asserted
most → return → them
Netanyahu praised the passengers and crew members who intervened, saying their actions “saved many lives and prevented a major disaster.” asserted
actions → praise → disaster
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