What happened
A FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was the scene of a dramatic attempted hijacking. The Omani co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to crash the plane, which was carrying 174 people. However, passengers, including an Israeli plumber named Yaniv Hayoun, intervened and overpowered the attacker, saving the lives of everyone on board.
The plane had plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before Hayoun and other passengers forced their way into the cockpit and regained control. Hayoun reportedly put the co-pilot in a chokehold and dragged him away from the controls, then pulled back on the controls himself to level out the plane.
The captain, who was seriously wounded in the attack, is being hailed as a hero for managing to release the locked cockpit door, allowing passengers to intervene. Two other FlyDubai pilots who were traveling on the plane then took control and landed it safely in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli authorities are investigating the incident, with Defense Minister Israel Katz calling it an attempted jihadist terror attack. The investigation is ongoing, with the motive behind the attack still unknown.
