Who is Yaniv Hayoun? Israeli Plumber Pulled Hijacked Plane Out of Nosedive

U.S.NewsPoliticsTechFact CheckSportsGlobalIran WarRussia-UkraineMiddle EastChina And AsiaLive BlogBetter PlanetAll World NewsLifestyleFamily & ParentingEntertainmentTravelPetsAutomotiveRelationshipsScienceHealthPersonal FinanceBetter WorkplacesReaders ChoiceOpinionMy TurnAll OpinionRankingsHealthFinanceProductsEducationWorkplacesCorporate ResponsibilityAll RankingsWatchThe 1600The Royal ReportUnconventionalFrom The PaddockNewsmakersExtraNewslettersDare to DreamEventsEssaysPodcastsVantageInsightsMagazineCEO CircleAnnouncementsLeadershipDev Pragad As investigators piece together the motive for the apparent hijack attempt on a flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, stories of passengers grappling for control of the airliner and a plumber steering the aircraft have revealed the dramatic sequence of events. FlyDubai flight 1073 abruptly plummeted more than 17,000 feet roughly two hours after taking off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Israel early on Wednesday. Passengers and crew forced their way into the cockpit after one of the pilots, later named as Indian national Captain Smit Machchha, was stabbed by his co-pilot, officials said. Images from the ground showed part of the aircraft's rudder had been damaged during the plane's violent descent. Officials said 174 passengers were on board, most of whom were Israeli. None of the passengers were reported injured. Hayoun, still dressed in visibly blood-stained clothing, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel after the plane had initially made an emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. Hayoun, speaking to Netanyahu in Hebrew, said the stabbed pilot had managed to open up the cockpit before collapsing. With the injured pilot on the floor, the suspected hijacker looked to be trying to destroy the plane's control systems, Hayoun told Netanyahu. He managed to put the alleged attacker in a chokehold and wrestled him out of the cockpit with the help of another person as the plane nosedived. With the suspected hijacker pinned down by other passengers, Hayoun said he managed to stabilize the plane's altitude before the injured pilot took over. Machchha was widely praised by Indian and Israeli officials as a hero and was admitted to hospital in Tabuk with "severe wounds," the Indian embassy in Riyadh said. 'I Have To Do Something' Hayoun works in maintenance and doesn't have any experience in security, he told The Free Press in an interview. Netanyahu described Hayoun as a plumber. “I had seen Air Crash Investigation on TV,” he said, explaining how he was able to slow the plane's dramatic descent. He made similar comments in his recorded conversation with Netanyahu. Hayoun said he looked toward his wife and children and "realized I have to do something." Mystery Surrounds Suspected Hijacker The suspected hijacker has not been named but is widely described in Israeli and international media reports as an Omani national. Omani authorities have not publicly commented. He remains under arrest and Saudi investigators are working with the UAE, the U.S., and Oman to piece together a motive, an unnamed regional official told the Associated Press. They did not reference Israeli input in inquiries. A spokesperson for Netanyahu's office said the suspect was alive in Saudi Arabia and Israel would be "dealing directly" with him in briefings and interrogations. Saudi officials are leading the investigation but the suspected hijacker will "be ‌taken ‌to the Emirates, where he comes ‌from, or at ‌least where he left, where he flew off from," Netanyahu said. Israel has no information on the "exact background of this person," Netanyahu said, but blamed anti-Israel "fanaticism and hatred" for the incident. FlyDubai, which is state-owned, warned against "premature speculation" and said the motive behind the incident wasn't clear. The airline has temporarily suspended all flights to Israel. Several top Israeli officials said the incident was an attempted terror attack, but did not level blame at a specific state or organization. Netanyahu said on Thursday the unidentified pilot "underwent Islamist radical ​indoctrination." Danny Danon, Israel's envoy to the United Nations, said there was "no doubt that it was a terror attack from a radical individual," but did not provide evidence. "We still cannot link it to a terror state or terror organization, but for sure we know there was an intention to bring that plane down," Danon said. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Tony Phillips.By Ellie CookSenior Defense Reporter

0ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.As investigators piece together the motive for the apparent hijack attempt on a flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, stories of passengers grappling for control of the airliner and a plumber steering the aircraft have revealed the dramatic sequence of events.

FlyDubai flight 1073 abruptly plummeted more than 17,000 feet roughly two hours after taking off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Israel early on Wednesday.

Passengers and crew forced their way into the cockpit after one of the pilots, later named as Indian national Captain Smit Machchha, was stabbed by his co-pilot, officials said.

Images from the ground showed part of the aircraft’s rudder had been damaged during the plane’s violent descent. Officials said 174 passengers were on board, most of whom were Israeli. None of the passengers were reported injured.

Hayoun, still dressed in visibly blood-stained clothing, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel after the plane had initially made an emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.

Hayoun, speaking to Netanyahu in Hebrew, said the stabbed pilot had managed to open up the cockpit before collapsing. With the injured pilot on the floor, the suspected hijacker looked to be trying to destroy the plane’s control systems, Hayoun told Netanyahu.

He managed to put the alleged attacker in a chokehold and wrestled him out of the cockpit with the help of another person as the plane nosedived.

With the suspected hijacker pinned down by other passengers, Hayoun said he managed to stabilize the plane’s altitude before the injured pilot took over.

Machchha was widely praised by Indian and Israeli officials as a hero and was admitted to hospital in Tabuk with “severe wounds,” the Indian embassy in Riyadh said.

Hayoun works in maintenance and doesn’t have any experience in security, he told The Free Press in an interview. Netanyahu described Hayoun as a plumber.

“I had seen Air Crash Investigation on TV,” he said, explaining how he was able to slow the plane’s dramatic descent. He made similar comments in his recorded conversation with Netanyahu.

Hayoun said he looked toward his wife and children and “realized I have to do something.”

The suspected hijacker has not been named but is widely described in Israeli and international media reports as an Omani national. Omani authorities have not publicly commented.

He remains under arrest and Saudi investigators are working with the UAE, the U.S., and Oman to piece together a motive, an unnamed regional official told the Associated Press.

They did not reference Israeli input in inquiries. A spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office said the suspect was alive in Saudi Arabia and Israel would be “dealing directly” with him in briefings and interrogations.

Saudi officials are leading the investigation but the suspected hijacker will “be ‌taken ‌to the Emirates, where he comes ‌from, or at ‌least where he left, where he flew off from,” Netanyahu said.

Israel has no information on the “exact background of this person,” Netanyahu said, but blamed anti-Israel “fanaticism and hatred” for the incident.

FlyDubai, which is state-owned, warned against “premature speculation” and said the motive behind the incident wasn’t clear. The airline has temporarily suspended all flights to Israel.

Several top Israeli officials said the incident was an attempted terror attack, but did not level blame at a specific state or organization. Netanyahu said on Thursday the unidentified pilot “underwent Islamist radical ​indoctrination.”

Danny Danon, Israel’s envoy to the United Nations, said there was “no doubt that it was a terror attack from a radical individual,” but did not provide evidence.

“We still cannot link it to a terror state or terror organization, but for sure we know there was an intention to bring that plane down,” Danon said.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Tony Phillips.