Passengers intervene in Flydubai cockpit attack

Passengers and crew intervened during an attack in the cockpit of Flydubai Flight 1073, helping bring the aircraft to an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia before passengers were flown back to Israel. The flight was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the confrontation began; the suspect’s identity and motive remained unresolved in reports published October 1. Passenger Yaniv Hayun said he heard a woman scream that someone had been stabbed and felt the plane shake. Israeli officials said an unidentified pilot attacked Captain Smit Machchhar in the cockpit. Hayun and other passengers entered the cockpit and subdued the attacker, according to accounts attributed to Hayun and Israeli officials. Israeli investigators said the suspect may have tried to crash the aircraft, but that account had not been established as a final finding. Hayun said he briefly took hold of the plane’s controls after seeing the pilots incapacitated. He described pulling the control yoke to help level the aircraft until another pilot took control. His account of the cockpit struggle and his actions was reported through statements to journalists and to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.