Flydubai Passengers Recount Foiling Co-Pilot's Attack

Two Israeli passengers on a recent Flydubai flight have recounted the dramatic events during which they subdued an axe-wielding co-pilot who attempted to murder the captain and crash the plane. Zvika Mans, a banking executive, and Daniel Schlichter, a real estate agent, described how the co-pilot, identified as Omani citizen Humam al-Hamami, attacked the Indian captain, Smith Machachchar, with an axe. Despite severe injuries, the captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing Mans, along with fellow passengers Yeniv Hiyun and Assaf Radwan, to overpower the assailant.

During the struggle, the attacker was heard shouting "Kill me, kill me," according to Mans. Astonishingly, members of the flight crew then reportedly demanded that the passengers release the subdued co-pilot. "They asked us to release the terrorist - and we had no idea why," Mans told the New York Post. A heated argument ensued, with the passengers refusing to release the man who had just tried to kill them. "They told us, 'You are not God, you are going to kill him,'" Mans recalled. "We didn't want to kill him, we just wanted him not to kill us."

The Israeli passengers, including Mans and Schlichter, even placed an oxygen mask on the injured co-pilot, stating their desire for him to survive for interrogation. A power struggle then emerged, with the crew insisting on their authority and the passengers, suspicious of potential complicity, ordering the flight attendants to move to the back of the plane. "From now on, the procedures have changed, we are managing things and you do what we say," Mans stated, expressing complete distrust of the crew.

Passengers escorted the crew members to rows 5 and 6, away from the cockpit. A large passenger was stationed to guard the cockpit entrance until additional pilots, who were traveling as passengers, took command. Once the crew was seated, they began to assist the shaken passengers, distributing water and blankets. The flight eventually landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where Mans reunited with his family. Many passengers refused to fly Flydubai again until they received security assurances from Israel's Mossad.

Mans described the incident as a "fight for life or death" driven by the instinct to protect his family, particularly after his daughter cried out in fear. He noted the brutal resistance from the co-pilot, with punches and kicks exchanged, and the uncertainty of whether the attacker still possessed a weapon. Schlichter admitted he was prepared to die during the plane's rapid descent, recalling the 9/11 attacks and his children. Both men expressed disbelief at the improbable chain of events that led to their survival, attributing it to divine intervention.