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Israelis recognised for landing plane with 'close to zero' survival chance

Read the original at ABC News (AU) ↗
Cite

Campbell, C., & Sawlani, G. (2026, October 1). Israelis recognised for landing plane with 'close to zero' survival chance. ABC News (AU). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-02/israelis-recognised-with-heroism-for-averting-flydubai-crash/107218792

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

ABC News (AU) · collected 2026-10-01 · by Claire Campbell, Girish Sawlani

Quick Summary

Israel has honored five citizens with heroism awards for their role in preventing a passenger plane from crashing after one pilot stabbed the other mid-flight. Flydubai flight FZ1073, carrying 174 people, was en route to Tel Aviv when it experienced an attack that caused the plane to plummet rapidly. Passengers and crew intervened, seizing control of the aircraft and safely landing it in Saudi Arabia despite extremely dangerous circumstances. President Isaac Herzog praised their actions as a reflection of Israel's courageous society, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called one recipient, plumber Yaniv Hayoun, a hero who saved many lives.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, 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.

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 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 2 of 15 claims Outlet record 96/100
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 1 of 61 claims Outlet record 61/100
South China Morning Post
Hedges 3 of 4 claims Outlet record 63/100
The Independent
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 59/100
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
BBC News
Hedges 2 of 29 claims Outlet record 68/100
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 31 claims Outlet record 69/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
26
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
3 of 26 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
ABC News (AU)'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 2026-10-01 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (AU) · 4602 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Claire Campbell
7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing.
🔮 In short: Russell Brand has taken the stand in his trial, telling the jury he could not convince any friends to defend him. The 51-year-old entertainer has denied charges of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault.
🔮 Brendan Nugent set to face court on three charges
🔮 He said changes to the aviation industry would inevitably come from the incident.
🔮 The 67-year-old from Adelaide's north had stopped going to the dentist years ago because she said she "couldn't afford it".
Also by Claire Campbell
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 7 articles by Claire Campbell →
Girish Sawlani
1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 He said changes to the aviation industry would inevitably come from the incident.
The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

ABC Flydubai Indian Israel Israeli

Subjects

Israel GPE · 7× Indian NORP · 4× Israeli NORP · 4× Netanyahu PERSON · 3× ABC ORG · 2× Peto PERSON · 2× Dubai GPE · 1× Flydubai ORG · 1× Saudi Arabia GPE · 1× Tel Aviv GPE · 1×

Narrative

"I will demand in the cabinet to extradite the terrorist pilot who wanted to harm hundreds of innocent Israelis to Israel," he wrote on X. "Here, he will encounter my policy in the prisons very well on his own flesh, a life of hell awaits him here!"
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-01
🔮 He said changes to the aviation industry would inevitably come from the incident.
2026-10-01 · ABC News (AU)
Israelis recognised for landing plane with 'close to zero' survival chance · assertive framing

Claims (26 extracted, 3 hedged)

In short: Israel has honoured five of its citizens who prevented a passenger plane from crashing with heroism awards. asserted
who → honour → awards
One pilot told the ABC it was a miracle people survived. What's next? An Israeli minister has called for the co-pilot who stabbed the plane's captain mid-air to be extradited to his country for "a life of hell". asserted
who → tell → hell
Israel has honoured five of its citizens who helped fight off a pilot who attempted to crash a passenger plane as it flew to Israel with heroism awards. asserted
it → honour → awards
Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai was scheduled to land in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, but was diverted and landed in Saudi Arabia after one pilot stabbed the other in the cockpit and "apparently tried to crash the plane", according to Israel's prime minister. uncertain
pilot → schedule → minister
But passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 737 Max 8 were able to foil the co-pilot's attempt to crash the plane and managed to safely land it after it plummeted thousands of metres in a minute. asserted
it → foil → minute
"You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster," Israel's President Isaac Herzog said in a statement honouring those who helped. " asserted
who → put → those
The whole world saw the beautiful and courageous face of Israeli society. asserted
world → see → society
I am proud of you, and I thank you on behalf of the state of Israel." asserted
I → thank → Israel
Among the Israelis to receive the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism is Yaniv Hayoun, a plumber who seized control of the plane, helping save all 174 people on board, including two Australians. asserted
who → receive → Australians
Mr Hayoun, still wearing a bloodied shirt, was personally greeted at Ben Gurion Airport by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who called him "a hero who has saved many lives". asserted
who → wear → lives
Another award recipient, Asaf Rajuan, said it was an "extraordinary incident". asserted
it → say → ?
"We felt helpless, suspended in midair, and I didn't know who to turn to," he said. "But it was all instinct: to survive, to save the family, the people, and the children." Plane's captain recovering well, Indian embassy says Mr Herzog and Mr Netanyahu have also praised the plane's Indian pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, who Israeli officials said managed to open the cockpit door to let passengers and crew save the plane after he was stabbed by the co-pilot. Mr Machchhar is in a good health and recovering well in hospital, according to the the Indian embassy in the UAE. "He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals," Mr Netanyahu said in a post on X. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him a "hero". "In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others. uncertain
he → feel → others
His valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy," Mr Modi said. asserted
Modi → help → tragedy
Pilot says survival of passengers 'close to a miracle' asserted
survival → say → miracle
Pilot Gyorgy Peto, who is also a former aviation journalist, told the ABC the landing of this plane made "the landing on the Hudson like a walk in the park". asserted
landing → tell → park
"Honestly the chances that this was survivable was pretty much close to zero," he told The World. asserted
he → tell → World
He said the aircraft was "close to breaking the speed of sound" when it descended so rapidly. asserted
it → say → sound
"There are a lot of small bits here that are close to a miracle, but this whole thing is just stunning in itself," Mr Peto said. "Luck is a very important player in this whole equation." asserted
Luck → be → equation
He said changes to the aviation industry would inevitably come from the incident. asserted
changes → say → incident
"The whole flying set up, from a security point of view, was never planned that the pilots would attack each other," he said. asserted
he → plan → other
"I think there's a lot of changes coming, and a lot of uncomfortable changes, because of this." asserted
I → think → this
Mr Peto said that should include better, more stringent background checks on pilots. asserted
that → say → pilots
Minister calls for 'terrorist' pilot to face 'life of hell' in Israel Mr Netanyahu claimed the flydubai co-pilot involved in a mid-air incident, identified as an Omani national, had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination". asserted
pilot → call → indoctrination
But the United Arab Emirates has started its own investigations seeking to establish the circumstances and motives, and determine "whether the incident was linked to any terrorist activity or purpose, or involved prior planning or direction", according to UAE state news agency. uncertain
incident → start → agency
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir said he wanted the pilot extradited to Israel. asserted
pilot → say → Israel
"I will demand in the cabinet to extradite the terrorist pilot who wanted to harm hundreds of innocent Israelis to Israel," he wrote on X. "Here, he will encounter my policy in the prisons very well on his own flesh, a life of hell awaits him here!" asserted
life → demand → him
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