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Passenger recalls putting pilot in 'chokehold' after stabbing on Israel-bound flight

Guardian News

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In a meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, passenger Yaniv Hayoun describes how he and another passenger forced their way into a cockpit and found one of the pilots slumped over the controls.
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One of the pilots of the plane flying from the United Arab Emirates to Israel had stabbed his co-pilot and appeared to try to crash the aircraft, Netanyahu said at a press conference on Wednesday. 'I grabbed the threat, putting him in a chokehold, essentially, and dragged him out first,' Hayoun said before 'pulling the controls back' and allowing the non-stabbing pilot to take over and stabilise the aircraft

Pilot who stabbed co-pilot on Israel-bound plane may have tried to crash it, says Netanyahu ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...

‘Whoever is hearing me, we need help’: how flight 1073 survived its 17,000ft plunge ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...

What we know so far about alleged stabbing of pilot by co-pilot on flight to Israel ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/202...

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#israel #flydubai #benjaminnetanyahu #yanivhayoun

20 Comments

@guardiannews Creator 12 hours ago Pinned

Pilot who stabbed co-pilot on Israel-bound plane may have tried to crash it, says Netanyahu ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/30/israel-bound-passenger-plane-emergency-landing-saudi-arabia-pilots-feud?CMP=yt_gn
‘Whoever is hearing me, we need help’: how flight 1073 survived its 17,000ft plunge ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/30/whoever-is-hearing-me-we-need-help-how-flight-1073-survived-its-5000-metre-plunge?CMP=yt_gn
What we know so far about alleged stabbing of pilot by co-pilot on flight to Israel ► https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/30/what-we-know-alleged-stabbing-pilot-copilot-flight-israel?CMP=yt_gn

@samiaramdani1204 14 hours ago

Really??? Aw. I believe you for sure

@toku_gawa 13 hours ago

All guardian readers must be hating this 😂😂😂

@KrzysztofTomaszekCM 12 hours ago

What a man! There were some true heroes on that flight.

@ichigodragon. 16 hours ago

The Indian captain who was stabbed by the Omani copilot managed to send out the distress call, fight him and unlock the steel door before collapsing. Pray this brave man recovers. He is in a critical condition. 🙏

@FreedomMoped 11 hours ago

The British need some of the backbone that the Israelis have

@David-l6l6s 4 hours ago

Im confused, one account has the pilot and co-pilot falling into the galley. This account is different!

@judymckee5992 12 hours ago

With the Lord on our side who can be against us?

@markgrender5638 14 hours ago

FALSE~FLAG ANYONE..???..

@heirapparent8217 11 hours ago

I’m glad the people on the plane landed safe. Lucky others onboard could fly a plane!

@frenzarin8743 17 hours ago

He's probably Mossad in disguise.

@robfl6874 17 hours ago (edited)

Let's get the story straight. The description in the video says "One of the pilots of the plane flying from the United Arab Emirates to Israel had stabbed his co-pilot". Media reports say it was actually the opposite. It was the co-pilot who stabbed the pilot. Part of the problem may be referring to both as pilots, even referring to the "non-stabbing pilot" - kind of awkward.

The story is: The co-pilot, an Omani national, whose name has not been publicly released stabbed the pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national.

The pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, who was attacked, was a former SpiceJet pilot for 11 years. He joined Flydubai in June 2022 as a direct-entry captain. He had 13+ years of experience and 9,750 flying hours on Boeing 737s, and served as an instructor captain.

The co-pilot, who was the attacker, had been employed by Flydubai for only about nine months. Investigators are examining how he was cleared to operate the Dubai–Tel Aviv route, given that Oman, where he is from, does not maintain full diplomatic relations with Israel.