Israeli Mother Recounts Terrifying Dubai Flight Hijacking Attempt

Lital Herschel-Shachar, a 39-year-old Israeli woman, shared her harrowing experience aboard a Flydubai flight last week, during which a co-pilot attempted to hijack the plane. Traveling with her four daughters, aged 14, 11, 7, and 5, the family was returning from a vacation in Singapore and Thailand when the flight turned into a nightmare. "Everything happened so fast, and the plane just started to plummet," Herschel-Shachar told the New York Post. "It was so scary and crazy. We all thought we were going to die." During the terrifying descent, which saw the plane drop over 4.3 kilometers in under 30 seconds after the Omani co-pilot attacked the captain, Herschel-Shachar prayed continuously and urged her daughters to do the same, believing prayer was their only hope for survival. She noted that Yeniv Hayun, one of the passengers who subdued the attacker, was seated behind her. "It was simply a miracle wrapped in a miracle wrapped in a miracle," she said. The family is now recovering at home, though her 7-year-old daughter is suffering from a fever due to the stress of the event. Herschel-Shachar also had to contend with online accusations that the hijacking attempt was staged, adding to the trauma she and the other 173 passengers endured. The incident occurred on a flight from Dubai to Israel when co-pilot Maam Al-Hamami attacked the Indian captain and began to dive the aircraft. The injured captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing four Israeli passengers to storm in and overpower the assailant.