Plumber and dentist praised as heroes in FlyDubai near-disaster

JERUSALEM —

A dentist and other passengers wrestled with a violent copilot. A plumber seized the controls of the plane as it plunged toward the desert. And that’s after the captain managed to open the cockpit door while being stabbed, helping to save all 174 people on board the Israel-bound flight.

Warning: The above video is graphic in nature. Viewer discretion is advised

As the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, put it: “Hollywood isn’t creative enough to come up with stories like this.”

The FlyDubai co-pilot who officials said nearly crashed was barred from flying by his native Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views, a person familiar with the matter said Saturday.

The co-pilot was subsequently hired by the United Arab Emirates-based airline, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. It was not immediately clear to what extent he was vetted when he was hired in the Emirates. Oman’s move to bar the co-pilot from flying was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warmly embraced the plumber shortly after the passengers’ arrival in Tel Aviv late Wednesday, and later posted a five-star review for Yaniv Hayoun’s professional services, calling him “a hero who has saved many lives.”

“He can help you too — I highly recommend him!” Netanyahu added on X.

Hayoun was among several Israelis recommended for the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism, while Indian Capt. Smit Machchhar was praised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “a HERO.”

India’s Modi lauds the pilot’s courage

Capt. Smit Machchhar, who is from India’s financial hub of Mumbai, was seriously injured in Wednesday’s attack. Passengers described how the pilot still managed to open the cockpit door, allowing them to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply, according to witnesses and Israeli authorities.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called Machchhar 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. His valor helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy,” Modi wrote on X.

Modi also praised the captain for demonstrating ”patience, presence of mind and courage,” saying his “actions prevented another 9/11-like attack from happening.” He said he had spoken with Machchhar’s parents and wife and that the pilot was undergoing treatment.

One met the prime minister wearing a bloody shirt

Many of the details emerged in a rush shortly after the passengers, most of them Israeli, landed back home to cheers and waving flags.

Hayoun, apologizing for his bloody shirt, within minutes was telling the prime minister and journalists what happened.

There had been little time for him and the others to think. Passengers screamed after spotting the copilot stabbing the captain, and the flight from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv began a steep dive. Some believed they were about to die.

A handful of Israelis reacted, hurtling up the aisle after the badly wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door. That was crucial, as cockpit doors are typically locked to prevent hijackings.

They had to struggle, Hayoun said, with the captain’s body resting against it.

The plumber seized the controls, just like in the movies

Hayoun said the copilot appeared to be trying to damage the plane’s controls. He grabbed the copilot, and others began struggling with the man.

Hayoun then tackled the controls. He had no training, but he remembered what he had seen in movies.

“I asked him, ‘How did you know how to do that?’ And he said, ‘Well, I, I watched these air disaster films,'” Netanyahu told Fox News on Thursday.

It was not clear who among the passengers had security experience, though military service is compulsory for most men and women in Israel.

By another turn of events, there were others on board who knew how to fly a plane.

Netanyahu and Flydubai confirmed that reserve pilots who were in the passenger area managed to regain control of the aircraft, issued a mayday call, and sought a place to land.

A dentist treated the wounded pilot

The handful of Israeli passengers grappled with the copilot for several minutes before subduing him and binding his hands with the cord from a set of headphones.

One of them, Dr. Shota Musayev, a dentist, also attended to the captain, who appeared to have lost a lot of blood. “He was just praying the whole time and was in contact with me, and I was afraid we would really lose him,” Musayev said.

In a video that Musayev shot and shared with The Associated Press, the captain lay on the floor of the cabin, saying his head was in pain.

Musayev later told journalists he and the other responders knew they’d had just seconds to act before a “critical event.”

But even with the copilot bound and subdued, they were scared that other attackers might be on the plane. They sent other people around the cabin to stand by.

Finally, just about an hour after the plane issued a distress call, it made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Now, investigators from across the region are working to understand what led to the attack. The copilot still has not been publicly identified.

Associated Press reporter Areej Hazboun in Jerusalem contributed.