‘I watch Mayday’: Israeli passenger says Canadian documentary helped him take control of flydubai flight

An Israeli passenger onboard the flydubai flight, which plunged 14,000 feet after a fight in the cockpit, stated that a Canadian documentary had helped him subdue the attacker.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Yaniv Hayun, a passenger on the FlyDubai flight bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates, which was diverted to Saudi Arabia following an emergency signal (via REUTERS)In a conversation with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yaniv Hayun, one of three Israeli passengers who helped subdue the attacker, recounted how he entered the cockpit. As per Times of Israel, the passenger told Netanyahu that he and another man forced their way into the cockpit and spotted the injured captain Smit Machchhar lying near the door.

Hayun further narrated the incident and stated that he jumped back in the cockpit as the flight began to tilt, grabbed the controls, started pulling at them.

He added that he knew what to do in such a situation thanks to a Canadian documentary called “Mayday.” Mayday is a Canadian documentary programme which examines air crashes, hijacking, bombings and other aviation related incidents.

“The plane started leveling out a little more, and then the pilot told me he was taking over from there,” he said. He also accused the copilot of trying to destroy controls.

A flydubai Boeing 737 MAX, flying from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Israel's Tel Aviv, declared an emergency, with the call signalling a hijacking, and turned back over northern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Also Read | Two other pilots other than Smit Machchhar, accused copilot were aboard flydubai plane. Here's why

Initially thought to be a potential hijacking, the incident later turned out that the signal that sparked fear among the authorities was itself triggered by a brawl between the two pilots in the cockpit.

It reportedly led to the aircraft descending from 34,000 feet to around 16,600 feet over northwestern Saudi Arabia in just over two minutes.

Passengers on the plane told Israel’s Channel 12 they heard co-passengers toward the front of the plane shouting, who had heard the altercation between the pilots, and that the plane dipped steeply before landing in Saudi Arabia.

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