The Aporia · How Israeli passenger controlled plummeting flydubai jet after captain was stabbed

How Israeli passenger controlled plummeting flydubai jet after captain was stabbed

Read the original at Times of India ↗

Cite

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Manral, K. (2026, October 1). How Israeli passenger controlled plummeting flydubai jet after captain was stabbed. Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/i-watch-air-crash-investigation-how-israeli-passenger-controlled-plummeting-flydubai-passenger-jet-after-co-pilot-stabbed-and-wounded-pilot/articleshow/134607099.cms

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Quick Summary

An Israeli passenger named Yaniv Hayun took control of a flydubai jet after its captain was stabbed by the co-pilot during an apparent hijacking attempt. In a video conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hayun described how he stabilized the plane and restrained the attacker until professional pilots could take over. The aircraft, en route to Israel from Pakistan, made an emergency landing in Tabuk Airport, Saudi Arabia after plummeting 17,400 feet in less than two minutes following the incident. Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, is currently receiving medical treatment and is reported to be stable.

Written by AI on 2026-10-01, 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 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 345 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

12%

3 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

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-10-01 · 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 · 3922 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 42 articles by Karan Manral →

Topics

Indian Israel Israeli Saudi Arabia flydubai

Subjects

Hayun PERSON · 5× Israeli NORP · 5× Netanyahu PERSON · 5× flydubai ORG · 5× Indian NORP · 3× Israel GPE · 2× Saudi Arabia GPE · 2× Benjamin Netanyahu PERSON · 1× India GPE · 1× Omani NORP · 1×

Narrative

An Israeli passenger, who took control of an Israel-bound flydubai passenger jet after its pilot was stabbed and wounded by the co-pilot during an apparent hijacking attempt told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he knew how to control the aircraft because, “I watch Air Crash Investigation.”

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-01

2026-10-01 · Times of India

How Israeli passenger controlled plummeting flydubai jet after captain was stabbed · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 3 hedged)

I → take → Investigation

In a video posted by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, the man told Netanyahu how passengers restrained the co-pilot, reportedly an Omani citizen, after the captain, an Indian national, managed to open the cockpit door despite being seriously wounded. uncertain

captain → post → door

Also Read | ‘India is proud’: PM Modi lauds Flydubai pilot Machchhar after cockpit attackIsraeli media identified the passenger as Yaniv Hayun. asserted

media → read → Hayun

"I jumped back into it (the cockpit) and pulled the controls. asserted

I → jump → controls

I started pulling the...," Hayun said in Hebrew, before Netanyahu interjected: "You pulled the controls? asserted

You → start → controls

You knew?" asserted

You → know → ?

"Yes, because I watch Air Crash Investigations, Mr Prime Minister. asserted

I → watch → Investigations

And then the plane started to level out, a bit more. asserted

plane → start → ?

And then the pilot told me he was taking control from there," he added, as Netanyahu burst into laughter. asserted

Netanyahu → tell → laughter

Israeli media reported that two off-duty flydubai pilots who were on the flight as they were due to operate another flydubai flight then took over. asserted

they → report → flight

The plane later made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. asserted

plane → make → Arabia

Also Read | 'A hero': Trump hails Indian captain after Flydubai attack, calls co-pilot ‘perhaps a terrorist’Meanwhile, earlier in the conversation, Hayun informed Netanyahu how passengers rushed into the cockpit after the wounded captain managed to open the door. asserted

captain → read → door

"...because of the pressure, a force like that pulled me down. asserted

force → pull → me

And standing at the door was someone else in a white shirt, I assume it was the pilot because inside there were two pilots, and outside two pilots happened to be sitting in the cabin," Hayun said. asserted

Hayun → stand → cabin

"He and I pushed the door," the man further stated, apparently referring to another passenger. asserted

man → push → passenger

He added that the stabbed pilot was very close to the entry, making it difficult for passengers to initially break in. asserted

passengers → add → entry

At this point, Netanyahu asked Hayun whether anyone had managed to open the cockpit door. asserted

anyone → ask → door

The man replied in the affirmative, saying the pilot was able to open it before collapsing. asserted

pilot → reply → it

Hayun then described how the plane began to descend - the jet plummeted 17,400 feet in less than two minutes, according to flight-tracking data. uncertain

jet → describe → data

I called out to the Israeli guys with us on the plane and two other guys came over to me. asserted

guys → call → me

We pinned him (co-pilot) down to keep him (pilot) secure," he said. asserted

he → pin → him

The Indian pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Saudi Arabia and is in stable condition, according to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. uncertain

pilot → undergo → Riyadh

The incident occurred just days before the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, and amid the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran, raising security concerns. asserted

incident → occur → concerns

The Israeli Knesset elections are also scheduled for October 27. asserted

elections → schedule → October