
In a matter of minutes, the Fly Dubai flight went from the brink of tragedy to a life-saving rescue. This is what the passengers who managed to stop the pilot who tried to shoot down the Boeing plane witnessed. About 180 passengers landed in Israel on Wednesday afternoon, with their loved ones waiting for them at the airport.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also there and had the opportunity to speak to passengers. One of the three passengers who managed to stop the pilot from attacking his colleague said that the injured pilot managed to open the cockpit door just before collapsing from his injuries.
#WATCH : Israeli passengers rush the cockpit to rescue their Flydubai flight after the copilot attempted to hijack it. pic.twitter.com/rs9L3EzL2B
— Israel National News - Arutz Sheva (@ArutzSheva_En) September 30, 2026
So they entered the cockpit, stopped the attacker, and managed to stabilize the plane, which fell within a few seconds from approximately 34,000 feet to 18,000 feet.
יניב, אתה גיבור אטיטיה. אנים אם של אריות! pic.twitter.com/55AgmAvzIG
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) September 30, 2026
Jika Manesh, one of the three passengers who intervened, told Israeli Channel 12 how she perceived what happened in the cockpit.
Terror on Dubai flight flydubai with 180 passengers including 27 children.
— One Objective (@OneObjective_) September 30, 2026
Copilot is wrestled to ground after stabbing the pilot
🚨 "I'm going to bomb the plane, Death to America, Death to Trump - Allahu Akbar"🚨
pic.twitter.com/2jTzXCmlWQ
He said his wife was taking their young daughter to the toilet at the front of the plane when she heard screams and a fight coming from the cockpit.
🔴 A passenger of the FlyDubai Dubai–Tel Aviv flight appeals to
— i24NEWS Français (@i24NEWS_FR) September 30, 2026
the Israeli authorities for help. « Tous les passengeres vont bien,… pic.twitter.com/4Z47NT0MYm
His wife then notified a flight attendant and told her to go to the cockpit to see what was happening.
One of the Israeli passengers who subdued the pilot-hijacker on board flydubai FZ 1073 told PM Netanyahu that the stabbed captain managed to open the cockpit door before collapsing. This enabled the passengers to enter and seize the attacker, as he was attempting to destroy the… pic.twitter.com/TuOiAGVBy9
— Ariel Oseran أريئل اوسيران (@ariel_oseran) September 30, 2026
At that moment, the pilot fell out of the cockpit door, while the co-pilot stabbed him. The injured pilot is Indian Smit Mahar, who works in Dubai. It was initially reported that he was a pilot from the United Arab Emirates. ©LAPSI.al