By David Israel • September 30, 2026
Jerusalem, 30 September, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayon at Ben-Gurion International Airport, hours after Hayon helped overpower a co-pilot who allegedly tried to crash Flydubai Flight FZ1073 mid-air.
The flight, carrying roughly 170 to 180 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, suffered a dramatic mid-air emergency Wednesday when the Omani co-pilot stabbed the captain, and the aircraft suddenly plunged. Israel scrambled fighter jets amid initial fears of a hijacking, and the plane diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, landing safely. Saudi authorities arrested the co-pilot, and both pilots were hospitalized.
Hayon recounted to Netanyahu the extraordinary moments aboard the aircraft, describing how he grabbed the co-pilot, who was attempting to crash the plane, choked him, and pulled him out of the cockpit. Hayon then called on other Israeli Passengers to help and rushed toward the controls, pulling them backward to stabilize the aircraft until the captain, though wounded, regained control.
His intervention, together with that of a crew member who also broke into the cockpit, helped prevent what Netanyahu described as a potential catastrophe involving approximately 150 Israelis aboard the flight. No passengers were injured.
Netanyahu had earlier said in a video statement that “the co-pilot tried to murder the pilot and basically carry out a suicide attack on the plane,” calling it an attempted “jihadist terror attack,” and praised the passengers and crew who intervened. Israeli officials said the co-pilot was being questioned by Saudi authorities, though a motive had not yet been confirmed.
Flydubai described the incident as an “altercation” on the flight deck and said it dispatched replacement aircraft to Tabuk to fly the stranded passengers and crew onward to Israel, adding it had no impact on other scheduled operations.
Hayon has since emerged as a national hero in Israel for his role in the incident, and Netanyahu heard his firsthand account during the meeting at the airport.
