Heroic Passengers Foil Terror Plot at 34,000ft: How Britain's Ally Israel Averted Its Own 9/11

In what Israeli leaders are calling a miraculous escape, the swift and selfless actions of passengers aboard a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv prevented what could have been one of the deadliest aviation attacks since 9/11. The incident, which unfolded at 34,000 feet on Wednesday, saw a co-pilot allegedly launch a knife attack on his captain before being overpowered by a group of courageous travellers.

What happened on board FlyDubai Flight FZ1073?

The Boeing 737 MAX, carrying over 170 passengers and crew, was cruising from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the cockpit became a scene of chaos. Reports indicate that the co-pilot, later identified as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, attacked Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, with a crash axe kept in the cockpit for emergencies. The plane plunged more than 17,000 feet in two minutes as the struggle ensued, prompting an emergency alert and a diversion to Saudi Arabia.

Aviation experts have told the BBC that the rapid descent caused damage to the aircraft's rudder and could easily have led to the plane breaking up in mid-air. It was a catastrophe narrowly averted.

Who were the heroes who subdued the attacker?

Among the passengers, three men stand out for their extraordinary bravery. Yaniv Hayun, a 50-year-old plumbing company owner, Tzvika Manes, and Asaf Rajuan broke into the cockpit to stop the attack. Hayun, who had blood dripping down his face, later told how he mimicked techniques learned from watching the television show Air Crash Investigation to grab the controls and pull back the handles.

“The shrieks of my daughters when the plane nose-dived are still with me. They said, 'Dad we don't want to die.' Those cries were the triggers that caused me to run inside the cockpit,” Manes told Israeli media.

It took 20 to 25 minutes for the men to fully subdue and bind the co-pilot, using cords from the plane's entertainment system headphones. A dentist, Dr Shota Musayev, administered life-saving treatment to Captain Machchhar, stabilising his blood pressure before emergency surgery.

Was this an act of terrorism?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been unequivocal in his assessment. He told Fox News that the attacker was “suicidal” and had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”. He promised to reveal whether there were connections to Iran in the coming days.

“It looks very likely that he was going to down the plane... The Islamist tendencies, that radicalisation that are found in his background, I think that's a pretty good clue,” Netanyahu said.

UAE prosecutors have since confirmed they are treating the incident as a “terrorist” attack. The co-pilot was arrested by Saudi security forces after the plane landed in Tabuk and is being questioned by investigators from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the US, Oman, and Israel.

What security failures allowed this to happen?

Questions are now being asked about how al-Hammami, who was reportedly banned from flying last year over concerns about his radical ideological views, was allowed to sit in the cockpit of a commercial airliner. Reports cited by the Times of Israel suggest that a ban on pilots from states without formal relations with Israel, including Oman, was not enforced appropriately.

Furthermore, Israel's security agency, Shin Bet, had raised concerns about flights from the UAE for months. Director David Zini had clashed with Israeli airlines over security measures at Emirati airports, but a scenario like Wednesday's hijacking attempt was reportedly “not raised in any discussion”.

What recognition will the heroes receive?

All five individuals who intervened are expected to receive Israel's Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism, according to President Isaac Herzog. Netanyahu personally thanked Yaniv Hayun for his role in preventing the plane from crashing.

As Israel prepares for elections on 27 October, opposition leader Yair Lapid has noted that politicians were warned in a national security briefing that Israel's enemies could attack in the run-up to the vote. This incident, which Netanyahu has framed as preventing a “9/11 disaster”, will undoubtedly sharpen the focus on national security in the coming weeks.

The investigation continues, but the message from Jerusalem is clear: the courage of ordinary citizens averted a catastrophe that could have changed the region forever.