Heroes: Indian pilot unlocked cabin while bleeding, Israeli passengers subdued, tied attacker with headphone cable

Following the safe return of the 166 Israelis and eight other passengers who survived the hijacking attempt of their plane on Wednesday, new testimonies have shed more light on the heroic actions of the Indian pilot and several Israeli passengers to avert a catastrophe.

On Wednesday morning, one of the pilots on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, reportedly of Omani origin, stabbed his Indian colleague, Captain Smit Machchhar, and put the plane into a rapid nosedive.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Machchhar's “extraordinary bravery” in a statement after the passengers’ return.

“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. He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals,” Netanyahu said. “I wish Captain Machchhar a speedy and full recovery. He is a true hero.”

These are secular Israelis, singing a popular Hebrew religious song upon landing back in Israel after the thwarted hijacking: "And God will bless me, and always love me/And things will always be good with me/And things will get better, and better...". They experienced a miracle. https://t.co/cPM2D0Be0Z

— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) September 30, 2026

President Isaac Herzog on Thursday said he would recommend Yaniv Hayoun, Dr. Shota Musayev, Zvika Manes, and Asaf Rajuan, who rushed the cockpit and disabled the attacking pilot, for the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism.

According to Herzog’s office, “Tali Manes (Zvika's wife) raised the alarm that something was wrong. Hayoun, Zvika Manes, and Rajuan then rushed to assist, entered the cockpit, and overpowered the attacker, placing their own lives in real danger, while Hayoun steadied the aircraft's controls.”

Hayoun met with Netanyahu shortly after landing at Ben Gurion airport. Footage released by the Prime Minister’s office showed him in the same blood-soaked clothes he had worn in a video from the cockpit he had made shortly after subduing the attacker, which had gone viral.

“I have to apologize,” he told Netanyahu, claiming he had requested several times to receive his luggage “in honor of the meeting.”

“This is the honor, you are it,” Netanyahu told him while hugging. “You’re a hero. How did you do it?” – “We’re a people of lions, an am kelavi, no?” he quipped, referring to the Hebrew term of operation “Rising Lion,” the war against Iran.

With English subtitles: pic.twitter.com/fMl5CDF00s

— Max 📟 (@MaxNordau) September 30, 2026

Hayoun further assured the prime minister that the blood on his shirt belonged to the attacker, expressing regret the passengers hadn’t managed to kill him.

Netanyahu praised his actions for saving not just the passengers on the plane, but potentially others. “We don’t know what would have happened,” he said, indicating that Israel’s security services aren’t yet sure what the terrorist’s plan was.

Hayoun also noted that he thought Captain Machchhar had managed to open the cockpit door just before collapsing from his wounds. When he entered, he saw the attacker was “trying to destroy the instruments to disable the aircraft. I grabbed the attacker, choked him and pulled him out. I called the Israelis and told them. We pinned him down.”

Speaking to Ynet News, Rajuan recounted, “We heard screams from near the restroom. A girl’s mother came out screaming, and we understood something had happened to the plane. It lost control, went down at a 90-degree angle, and we understood there was no control over the aircraft and something had happened.”

“The cockpit door was open and we started seeing the cockpit fill with blood,” he said. “People went in. There was a guy who got there before me named Zvika Manes. I went in with two other guys and we tried to overpower the attacker, and we succeeded.”

"There were amazing Israeli men and women on the flight and we survived because of them" pic.twitter.com/caeB9rsy4b

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 30, 2026

Manes, the CEO of Bank Leumi’s underwriting company, said he helped restrain the attacker with cables from the headphones distributed on the flight: “We tied him several times, both his legs and his hands. He was thrashing around, so we tied him even more tightly. Then he calmed down and understood that he was in our hands.”

He told Ynet that it was his wife who had heard the commotion while accompanying their daughter to the restroom.

“There was a lot of blood. The plane plunged rapidly like you see in horror movies. There were screams. It was a very difficult event until the pilot stabilized the plane,” Manes said, “We lost our angles. [The attacker] was really trying to fly the aircraft toward the ground, and people were thrown around and screaming.”

“We later tied him up and neutralized him. It took quite a bit of physical force. He was a strong man, probably full of adrenaline,” Manes said.

Hayoun went on to tell Netanyahu that he was the one who managed to stabilize the plane and end the nosedive by pulling back the control stick. “I watch plane crash investigation shows,” he explained to the visibly stunned prime minster, adding that one of the two off-duty pilots who were on the plane by chance then took over to land the aircraft.

Asaf Rejwan was one of the Israelis who stepped in and helped take control of the cockpit after the pilot stabbed his colleague.

Today, he’s simply grateful to be home. 🇮🇱❤️ pic.twitter.com/cnjRw1V1NG

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 30, 2026

Two British off-duty pilots had been seated near the cockpit by chance. A passenger who spoke with The Jerusalem Post recounted that they appeared shocked at the incident.

“I shouted at them to run and take control of the plane,” the passenger said, adding that the Israelis pulled the attacker from the cockpit. One of the pilots then recovered and took control of the plane, while the second pilot took a while longer to regain his composure.

For most of the passengers, the rapid descent had been the first sign that something was wrong.

“The plane suddenly plunged, and all the passengers knew very well what had happened and understood that there was a problem with one of the pilots,” Ofir Spiegel, CEO of a public relations firm, whose mother was on the plane, told the Post.

Speaking with Channel 12, a female passenger recounted, “I did not pray for the plane to be saved, but only for it to end quickly, so that the children would not suffer. There was perfect unity among all the passengers.”

This man is a hero.

Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian captain of flydubai Flight 1073, fought back after being stabbed in the cockpit.

Despite being severely injured, he managed to unlock the cockpit door - allowing Israeli passengers and the Emirati crew to intervene and save… pic.twitter.com/x4W3mtQkag

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 30, 2026

After the attacker had been neutralized, Dr. Musayev began treating Machchhar, probably saving his life. The dentist explained, “I was the only doctor on the plane. I managed to stop the bleeding, and the pilot was in fairly stable condition until close to the landing, when his condition deteriorated somewhat.”

Musayev told Walla that Machchhar was bleeding heavily from wounds to his head and hands. During the treatment, Musayev said the pilot was able to tell him that his co-pilot had attacked him with a knife, and also that he is a father to two children.

Indian media outlets reported that Machchhar is a Gujarati Indian from Mumbai, who is living in Dubai.

The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said he was “admitted in a hospital in Tabuk city in northwest Saudi Arabia and [is] receiving necessary medical attention.”

Speaking to President Herzog, Musayev noted, “It wasn't only my heroism. Everyone who was there and came near the cockpit was part of it. We were all heroes. All the passengers were heroes. We supported one another on the plane and also when we arrived in Saudi Arabia, and we took care of each other as we should. It shows our strength as a people.”

President Herzog expressed his deep appreciation for the “resourcefulness, courage, and mutual responsibility” the passengers displayed.

“At a time when the lives of so many people were in danger, you acted without hesitation, with courage, resourcefulness, and extraordinary mutual responsibility. You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster. Today, the whole world saw the beautiful and courageous face of Israeli society. I am proud of you, and I thank you on behalf of the State of Israel."