‘I Pulled the Yoke Up,’ Passenger Recalls Saving Hijacked Israel-Bound Flight From Crashing

A passenger has disclosed how he stepped in to save an Israel-bound passenger jet after one of the pilots stabbed the flight captain in an effort to hijack the plane.“I pulled the yoke up and stopped the plane’s dive,” Yaniv Hayoun told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion Airport after returning to Israel. He was on the flight with his wife and children. “It’s lucky I had some aviation experience from Air Crash Investigation,” he added, referring to a television show that recreates air disasters. Mr. Hayoun — still wearing the blood-stained clothing from the nearly doomed flight — met the prime minister in front of the news media Wednesday. He explained that when he stormed the cockpit with other passengers he found the co-pilot trying to destroy the aircraft’s instruments. Mr. Hanyoun put the attacker in a chokehold and helped drag him out of the cockpit. He then rushed back to the controls and was able to level-out the plane.“Yoniv, you’re a true hero. We’re a nation of lions,” Mr. Netanyahu said.Mr. Netanyahu identified the pilot who was stabbed as Capt. Smit Machchhar, an Indian citizen, and hailed him a hero who saved the lives of everyone on the plane. “Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker, preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster,” Mr. Netanyahu added.The clash took place in the cockpit on Wednesday morning in the skies over Saudi Arabia near the Jordanian border. The flight, a Boeing 737 MAX carrying approximately 180 passengers, plummeted from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in about one minute during the incident.Unconfirmed reports say the attacker is an Omani national. The United Arab Emirates has an aviation agreement with Israel that requires any pilot that lands in Israel to have a passport from a country with diplomatic relations with Jerusalem, which Oman does not have.Banking executive, Tzvika Manes, helped subdue the knife-wielding co-pilot. “I am covered in blood. It was crazy,” Mr. Manes told Israeli news outlet Calcalist.Mr. Manes said his wife was waiting near the cockpit while their daughter used the restroom. She heard screams from behind the flight deck door and alerted an off-duty replacement pilot seated nearby. The backup pilot called for help and Mr. Manes helped to storm the cockpit. “This is an insanely traumatic event,” Mr. Manes added.“I was in the back, so I didn’t see much, but I felt I was going down,” passenger Nika Margoninsky told reporters. The teen said she thought she was going to die.One of the pilots sent a distress signal during the attack and Israel scrambled warplanes. Video from the flight posted on social media showed confusion among the passengers and people crying. One video showed what appeared to be passengers treating a wounded pilot and a second crew member tied up beside him, appearing to be unconscious.Two other pilots who were reportedly onboard the plane to fly to their next assignments took over the controls and made an emergency landing at an airport at Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, passengers told the New York Times. The pilot and co-pilot were hospitalized with injuries.Saudi Arabia rejected a request by Israel to allow Israeli military planes bring the Israelis home, Reuters reported. Riyadh has no diplomatic relations with Jerusalem. The passengers were transferred to another FlyDubai flight and returned to Ben Gurion International Airport.A doctor and a nurse who were on the flight treated the wounded captain until the plane landed, Israel Hayom reported. Video showed the passengers cheering when the replacement plane landed in Israel.“Anyone who tried to bring down a plane and murder 180 Israelis should pay as though he had murdered,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in an X post. “He and every state or terrorist organization that sent him.”FlyDubi said it was suspending all flights to and from Israel while the investigation continues. The airline said it would work to help find passengers with alternative travel arrangements where possible.Mossad, Shin Bet, the Israel Defense Forces, and the Transportation Ministry are now involved in the investigation, Kan news reports.Mr. Netanyahu has warned in recent days of unspecified security threats ahead of the third anniversary of the October 7 attack and Israel’s legislative election later in the month.Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, in an X post, said nothing resembling the attack was among the threats raised in a security update he received Tuesday from Mr. Netanyahu.Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, said he spoke to his Emirati counterpart, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan about the incident. “During our warm conversation, we expressed our mutual determination to strengthen the relations between our countries at all levels and to work together against extremist elements seeking to harm security and undermine stability in the region,” Mr. Saar said in an X post.The American ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said he was relieved the passengers were safely home in Israel. “Israel endures because its people refuse to surrender. And tonight we are even more proud to call this extraordinary nation our true partner,” Mr. Huckabee said in an X post.Correction: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. That designation was misstated in the bulldog edition.

‘I Pulled the Yoke Up,’ Passenger Recalls Saving Hijacked Israel-Bound Flight From Crashing

‘I Pulled the Yoke Up,’ Passenger Recalls Saving Hijacked Israel-Bound Flight From Crashing

More from the New York Sun

French Protests Boil Over With Buildings Torched and Hundreds Arrested Nationwide

A Disillusioned Democrat Burns Her Bridges, Seeking To Light the Way For the Left

Justice Department Seeks To Disqualify Biden-Appointed Judge Over ‘Animosity for the Trump Administration’

Iran Dials Up Pressure on Hormuz With Record Number of Weekly Strikes on Shipping

‘Beyond Irresponsible’: Republicans on Capitol Hill Denounce Trump’s Decision To Waive Russia Sanctions

Out of Adversity, a Japanese American Design Vision

The Tesla Roadster Can Really Fly, But It’s Not a Real Car Yet

Blakeman Hopes To Cut a Path to Albany Through Minority and Jewish Voters, and Hochul’s Unpopular Policies

More from the New York Sun

French Protests Boil Over With Buildings Torched and Hundreds Arrested Nationwide

A Disillusioned Democrat Burns Her Bridges, Seeking To Light the Way For the Left

Justice Department Seeks To Disqualify Biden-Appointed Judge Over ‘Animosity for the Trump Administration’

Iran Dials Up Pressure on Hormuz With Record Number of Weekly Strikes on Shipping

‘Beyond Irresponsible’: Republicans on Capitol Hill Denounce Trump’s Decision To Waive Russia Sanctions

Out of Adversity, a Japanese American Design Vision

The Tesla Roadster Can Really Fly, But It’s Not a Real Car Yet

Blakeman Hopes To Cut a Path to Albany Through Minority and Jewish Voters, and Hochul’s Unpopular Policies