Flydubai passenger describes putting attacker in chokehold after cockpit stabbing - BBC News                            (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmx2z92xx57no)  (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmx2z92xx57no)  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmx2z92xx57no)  (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmx2z92xx57no)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-36.413a37b227.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-48.010dc96bcf.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-57.1fcd0dc805.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-60.52f68a148f.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-72.f155fdb25f.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-76.cb5ee392d4.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-96.35ee2d1e20.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-114.7ccdf53cba.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-120.73e20442a9.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-128.060d346f09.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-144.e08bc23631.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-152.4de1981be0.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-180.1a18cb7b72.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-192.3ac042fa43.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-384.728e3a03d3.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/touch/news/touch-icon-512.685da29e9e.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/favicon/news/favicon-16.8a240ceacc.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/website/assets/static/icons/favicon/news/favicon-32.5cf4e6db02.png)  (../../../static.files.bbci.co.uk/core/manifest.11b0cb15658c4719a2c19e25644577223adaa7b2.json)   (https://www.bbc.com)   BBC Homepage    (cmx2z92xx57no@at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss.html#main-heading) Skip to content  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/) Accessibility Help          (https://account.bbc.com/account?lang=en-GB&ptrt=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticles%2Fcmx2z92xx57no)    Your account       (https://www.bbc.com) Home  (https://www.bbc.com/news) News  (https://www.bbc.com/sport) Sport  (https://www.bbc.com/future/earth) Earth  (https://www.bbc.com/reel) Reel  (https://www.bbc.com/worklife) Worklife  (https://www.bbc.com/travel) Travel  (https://www.bbc.com/culture) Culture  (https://www.bbc.com/future) Future  (https://www.bbc.com/culture/music) Music  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl9m) TV  (https://www.bbc.com/weather) Weather  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds) Sounds   (cmx2z92xx57no@at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss.html#global-navigation-more-menu)    More menu     (cmx2z92xx57no@at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss.html#global-navigation-more-menu)   More menu    (https://www.bbc.com/search?d=NEWS_GNL)    Search BBC      (https://www.bbc.com) Home  (https://www.bbc.com/news) News  (https://www.bbc.com/sport) Sport  (https://www.bbc.com/future/earth) Earth  (https://www.bbc.com/reel) Reel  (https://www.bbc.com/worklife) Worklife  (https://www.bbc.com/travel) Travel  (https://www.bbc.com/culture) Culture  (https://www.bbc.com/future) Future  (https://www.bbc.com/culture/music) Music  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl9m) TV  (https://www.bbc.com/weather) Weather  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds) Sounds   (cmx2z92xx57no@at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss.html#more-menu-button)   Close menu          (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news)   BBC News      (cmx2z92xx57no@at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss.html#product-navigation-menu)    Menu  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news) Home   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmj34zmwm1zt) Climate   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world) World   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/us_and_canada) US & Canada   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk) UK   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business) Business   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology) Tech   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment) Science   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment_and_arts) Entertainment & Arts   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health) Health     (cmx2z92xx57no@at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss.html#product-navigation-more-menu)    More     (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in_pictures) In Pictures   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/bbcverify) BBC Verify   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat) Newsbeat         (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world) World   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/africa) Africa   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/asia) Asia   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/australia) Australia   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/europe) Europe   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/latin_america) Latin America   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/middle_east) Middle East           Flydubai passenger describes putting attacker in chokehold after cockpit stabbing          To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played       Figure caption,          By Jaroslav Lukiv     Published 30 September 2026           Passengers on a flight to Israel have recounted how they subdued a pilot after he stabbed the other pilot and appeared to be trying to disable the plane, while others described the "terrifying" moment they thought they would die.  Appearing in a bloodstained shirt after the ordeal, Yaniv Hayun told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he realised something was wrong when the aircraft suddenly dropped.  The plane, en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, plummeted 17,000ft (5,200m) in less than two minutes. "Someone screamed... the light went out," Hayun said in a video posted by the prime minister on social media. He and others tried to push open the cockpit door, but the pilot who had been stabbed was very close to it, so it was hard to open. Before he collapsed, the injured pilot managed to open the door. When Hayun and another man entered the cockpit, he said he saw one pilot down and the attacker on the instruments, between the two seats, "trying to destroy the instruments in order to...disable the plane". "I grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and pulled him - first and foremost - outside," Hayun said. "We pulled him out; it was a matter of seconds. I called out to the Israeli guys with us on the plane - I called them, and two other guys came over to me... we pinned [the attacker] down to keep him secure."          To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played       Figure caption,  'I pulled the controls': Passenger tells Israeli PM how he helped stop attacker       Hayun said he then jumped back into the cockpit and "started pulling the controls".  When asked by Netanyahu whether he knew what he was doing, the passenger answered: "I watch Air Crash Investigation, Mr Prime Minister." Hayun said the plane then started to level out. By then, two on-duty pilots who had been in the passenger cabin were at the front of the plane, and one told Hayun he was taking control from there. Netanyahu praised Hayun, calling him a "great hero" and a "lion". Another passenger, Zvika Meness, told Israeli public broadcaster Kan he helped overpower the attacker, and the passenger and two others "tied him up with his own zip ties and with the multimedia headphones". "Another pilot who was sitting in the passenger cabin went in to replace the additional pilot, and they essentially landed the plane," he added. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cw980g1lem5pt) Follow live updates           (People hug each other after passengers from the diverted Flydubai flight arrive at Tel Aviv's airport on a repatriation flight. Photo: 30 September 2026)    Image source,  Reuters      The Flydubai flight eventually landed at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, and the passengers were later taken to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport on a repatriation aircraft. They were greeted by crowds of onlookers playing music, singing, dancing and waving Israeli flags. "Thank God I'm alive," passenger Haim Lazarovich told journalists, adding that "the most terrifying moment in this flight was when the pilot loses control". Oran Choen, an 18-year-old passenger, described the incident as "a very tough moment". "Maybe it was five minutes, but it feels like hell - I heard my brother behind me scream that we was going to die," he added. A paramedic from Israel's ambulance service later told the BBC that a number of people were "very emotional and crying as they came off the plane".  The stabbed pilot, Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, was taken to hospital but is in stable condition, according to the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia.  Netanyahu praised Machchhar as a "true hero" of "extraordinary bravery". The attacker was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has called it an "attempted jihadist terror attack". No official motive for the incident or further information has been given. US President Donald Trump said he had spoken with Netanyahu following the incident, saying it seemed as though the attacker was "perhaps a terrorist" or there were other reasons behind the attack.     Related topics  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/crz4004j5zet) Air travel  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c2n5vpdv320t) Aviation accidents and incidents  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c302m85q5ljt) Israel  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cwlw3xz0zl4t) Saudi Arabia        More on this story (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqjdv7pmj9dno) What we know about stabbing on Flydubai flight to Israel     Published 6 hours ago          (A file photo of a FlyDubai plane, white with orange and blue lettering, on a runway.)          (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqgmrm7xd8wyo) 'Hero' pilot stabbed by other pilot on Israel-bound plane, Israeli PM says     Published 10 minutes ago          (A Flydubai aircraft carrying passengers from Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, stands on the tarmac after landing at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.)                (vertical video collection) The video playlist   Watch our pick of standout clips from across the BBC      Previous     Next         1:21 How Dame Esther Rantzen set up Childline. 00:01:21, play video How Dame Esther Rantzen set up Childline    (A black and white photo of Rantzen smiling wearing a Childline sweater, surrounded by balloons)           1:06 What tactics have the cast got to play The Celebrity Traitors? 00:01:06, play video What tactics have the cast got to play The Celebrity Traitors?    (Leigh-Anne Pinnock has long dark curly hair and is wearing a multi-coloured blazer, holding a microphone.)           0:54 Major changes made for learner drivers in Northern Ireland. 00:00:54, play video Major changes made for learner drivers in Northern Ireland    (New blue R plate on grey car)           0:37 PM: I'd be 'really concerned' if Man City owners sell club. 00:00:37, play video PM: I'd be 'really concerned' if Man City owners sell club    (Andy Burnham wears a suit and looks at an interviewer off-screen to his right.)           0:44 Harry and Meghan criticise photographer near kids' school. 00:00:44, play video Harry and Meghan criticise photographer near kids' school    (Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stood side by side, both looking away from the camera.)           1:18 How empty chairs are helping people's mental health. 00:01:18, play video How empty chairs are helping people's mental health    (Two men taking a selfie outdoors)           0:31 The Celebrity Traitors: Rewatch Celia Imrie's nervous fart. 00:00:31, play video The Celebrity Traitors: Rewatch Celia Imrie's nervous fart    (Celia Imrie trying not to laugh.)           0:49 Social worker kept more than 80 dogs in filthy house. 00:00:49, play video Social worker kept more than 80 dogs in filthy house    (More than 10 Springer Spaniel-type dogs crowded together on a dirty staircase.)           1:17 Did one of the RAF Fairford suspects really call 999? 00:01:17, play video Did one of the RAF Fairford suspects really call 999?    (An armed police officer at a checkpoint near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.)           0:59 What makes you socially anxious? 00:00:59, play video What makes you socially anxious?    (A young woman with nose piercings, blue jeans, and a black top speaking into a BBC branded microphone, looking like she's in conversation)           0:49 Former American Idol contestant guilty of murdering wife. 00:00:49, play video Former American Idol contestant guilty of murdering wife    (Former American Idol contestant, Caleb Flynn, blows his nose in court. He is wearing a grey suit.)           0:29 Cash machines ripped from wall in overnight heist. 00:00:29, play video Cash machines ripped from wall in overnight heist    (A shot of the exterior of the Peebles branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland. There is a hole in the wall on the left where a cash point used to be. The arm of a forklift truck cuts across the foreground.)           0:42 Orionid meteor shower set to light up UK sky. 00:00:42, play video Orionid meteor shower set to light up UK sky    (Silhouette of a bare trees with a meteor shower in the night sky behind them.)           1:39 Britain's three original drinking spots. 00:01:39, play video Britain's three original drinking spots    (Close up of a pint of ale on a wooden table, with a roaring fireplace in the background.)           0:49 How the celebs are planning to play The Celebrity Traitors. 00:00:49, play video How the celebs are planning to play The Celebrity Traitors    (YouTuber and boxer King Kenny wearing a suit speaking into a microphone.)               Top stories (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3j4jg0z4j5nt)     Live.    Hundreds of prisoners being let out today as new early release scheme starts     6244 viewing 6.2k viewing             (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crz6zq5pew89o) We fear for our lives after being told our abusive exes will be freed from jail early     Published 2 hours ago            (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq8r6rjdvlx6o) US death row inmate survives execution attempt after two lethal injections     Published 1 hour ago                More to explore (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crz6zq5pew89o) We fear for our lives after being told our abusive exes will be freed from jail early      (Claire Milne)         (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cwm2r2v42vdeo)    Plummeting Israel flight like 'rollercoaster', says passenger. Video Plummeting Israel flight like 'rollercoaster', says passenger           (Almog Itali speaks to BBC Newnsight from his garden.)         (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckqxvnpy7e49o) Celebrity Traitors is back - here's what you need to know ahead of the first show      (Maya Jama, Michael Sheen and Bella Ramsey all in smart clothes, looking straight at the camera)         (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crm4rygl4m3o) Energy bills are rising by £60 a year - here's what you can do about it      (A parent and child prepare cupcakes together in a kitchen)         (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmx2z2l28x9po) The Papers: 'Israel's 9/11 stopped' and 'That was a great life'      (The headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph reads: “Hero who stopped Israel's 9/11”. The headline on the front page of the Sun reads: “That was a great life, Esther”.)         (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmy0zewj483wo) Son who used AI to help save mum's life hopes case offers Parkinson's clues      (An older woman with light blonde hair and a bright blue t-shirt smiles at the camera and poses next to a younger man, also smiling, who seems to be taking the photo as a selfie. They are standing on a clifftop walk with coastline in the background.)         (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crpd0wdnlgxno) Cornell case spotlights 'confusing' web of systems for reporting campus assaults      (The backs of three students are seen apparently walking with a light blue sky background. It appears to be two men and one woman with long brown hair, wearing a blue coat. They are casually dressed and each has a backpack.)         (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3gr5ynd5p1o) How That's Life! gave Esther Rantzen a career-defining moment      (Dame Esther on the set of That's Life!)         (https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsletters/zgmn46f) US Politics Unspun: Cut through the noise with Anthony Zurcher's newsletter      (A cut of of Anthony Zurcher wearing a suit and tie in front of a red, black, grey and blue graphic background featuring the US Capitol Building)             Elsewhere on the BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0032f30?at_mid=jo8RwUp6NN&at_campaign=Eras_Spice_Girls&at_medium=display_ad&at_campaign_type=owned&at_nation=NET&at_audience_id=SS&at_product=sounds&at_brand=p0g7xpwt&at_ptr_name=bbc&at_ptr_type=media&at_format=image&at_objective=consumption&at_link_title=Eras_Spice_Girls&at_bbc_team=BBC) Five girls. One era-defining phenomenon. Meet the Spice Girls        (Eras: Spice Girls)        (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m003242c?at_mid=sbiDgqnp1v&at_campaign=Historys_Secret_Heroes_S4_Kiyoshi_Tanimoto_and_the_Atomic_Bomb&at_medium=display_ad&at_campaign_type=owned&at_nation=NET&at_audience_id=SS&at_product=sounds&at_brand=m001mcbp&at_ptr_name=bbc&at_ptr_type=media&at_format=image&at_objective=consumption&at_link_title=Historys_Secret_Heroes_S4_Kiyoshi_Tanimoto_and_the_Atomic_Bomb&at_bbc_team=BBC) The man who ran into Hiroshima and changed history        (History's Secret Heroes)        (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002zkrp?at_mid=0o22Fuzkte&at_campaign=Finding_Britains_Slave_Traders_with_David_Olusoga_S1_E1&at_medium=display_ad&at_campaign_type=owned&at_nation=NET&at_audience_id=SS&at_product=iplayer&at_brand=m002zkrm&at_ptr_name=bbc&at_ptr_type=media&at_format=image&at_objective=consumption&at_link_title=Finding_Britains_Slave_Traders_with_David_Olusoga_S1_E1&at_bbc_team=BBC) David Olusoga sheds new light on Britain's slave traders        (Finding Britain’s Slave Traders with David Olusoga)        (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00316yg?at_mid=ccAc2K8tLT&at_campaign=Im_Not_A_Monster_Where_Is_Austin_Tice&at_medium=display_ad&at_campaign_type=owned&at_nation=NET&at_audience_id=SS&at_product=sounds&at_brand=p08yblkf&at_ptr_name=bbc&at_ptr_type=media&at_format=image&at_objective=consumption&at_link_title=Im_Not_A_Monster_Where_Is_Austin_Tice&at_bbc_team=BBC&at_creation=News) Josh Baker sets out to uncover an American journalist's abduction        (I'm Not A Monster Presents...)            Most read 1 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq8r6rjdvlx6o) US death row inmate survives execution attempt after two lethal injections       2 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ck4gjn1yzprno) Tiny image sparks big backlash in Nikon photo contest       3 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cje3r3z7g0zzo) Who is the 'hero' Indian pilot who was stabbed on Israel-bound flight?       4 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmx2z2l28x9po) 'Israel's 9/11 stopped' and 'That was a great life'       5 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv8e30enrkxyo) AI boom could trigger market shocks, Bank of England boss warns       6 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cklyjy9pv93yo) Conservatives pledge 'tough love' benefit rules for under-25s       7 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqgmrm7xd8wyo) Too early to say if Iran involved in Dubai-Tel Aviv flight attack, Israeli PM says       8 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm3wjwxg3e74o) Tributes paid to 'inspirational' presenter and campaigner Esther Rantzen       9 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm4gjy9lr551o) China has cracked down on AI relationships. Is it ahead of the game?       10 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6j4jrjgv2j7o) Vape tax comes into effect - but prices won't rise yet               BBC News Services  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10628994)    On your mobile  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/help-50068132)    On smart speakers  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10628323)    Get news alerts  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/20039682)    Contact BBC News     (https://www.bbc.com) Home  (https://www.bbc.com/news) News  (https://www.bbc.com/sport) Sport  (https://www.bbc.com/future/earth) Earth  (https://www.bbc.com/reel) Reel  (https://www.bbc.com/worklife) Worklife  (https://www.bbc.com/travel) Travel  (https://www.bbc.com/culture) Culture  (https://www.bbc.com/future) Future  (https://www.bbc.com/culture/music) Music  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl9m) TV  (https://www.bbc.com/weather) Weather  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds) Sounds   (https://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/terms) Terms of Use  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc) About the BBC  (https://www.bbc.com/usingthebbc/privacy) Privacy Policy  (https://www.bbc.com/usingthebbc/cookies) Cookies  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility) Accessibility Help  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/guidance) Parental Guidance  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact) Contact the BBC  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/careers) Careers  (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcnewsletter) BBC emails for you  (https://www.bbc.com/advertisingcontact/) Advertise with us    Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidance/links-and-feeds) Read about our approach to external linking.         ()