The passengers tied up the co-pilot, an Omani citizen identified as Hamam al-Hammami, and made it clear that he would be released to local police. Within minutes, passengers, including two off-roster pilots, took control of the plane and averted the alleged crash attempt. Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight FZ 1073 was prevented from crashing after Indian captain Smit Machchhar, who was attacked with a crash axe, opened the cockpit door and alerted the crew.
A video shared by i24NEWS, an Israel-based news channel, shows al-Hammami sitting on his knees, inside the aircraft, with his hands tied behind his back. His clothes have bloodstains. More five minutes. It appears that they mean that passengers had controlled the co-pilot for so long and can wait for five more minutes and hand him over to the local police.
One of the passengers, whose face is not visible and who cannot be identified, can be heard saying, “One hour, 40 minutes.
In the 45-second video, passengers can be repeatedly heard saying “just police” and “only police”.
An argument ensued and Israeli passengers made it clear that under no circumstances would the co-pilot be released.
The flydubai crew, however, wanted the co-pilot to be freed, two men who helped secure the terror suspect told The Post in exclusive interviews. “They were asking us to untie the terrorist – we had no idea why,” said banking executive Tzvika Manes, one of the three civilians who took down al-Hammami. “They were saying to free the terrorist – we got instantly suspicious of them,” said real estate professional Daniel Schlichter, who was sitting in the second row, close to the cockpit. “They said, ‘You are not God, you are not going to kill him,'” Manes recalled. “We didn’t want to kill him, we just wanted him not to kill us.”
All are reported to be safe. Cabin crew insisted that passengers return to their respective seats and leave them alone in the area in front of the cockpit. The Israeli passengers feared the crew’s involvement in the attack and instead ordered them to take seats in the middle of the plane. It began with Captain Smit Machchhar unlocking the cockpit door. Coincidentally, around the same time, Tali Manes was standing outside the toilet waiting for her daughter. She heard a sound from inside the flight deck, like “something knocking on the door. Manes convinced a backup pilot on the plane to check what was happening. The door opened to a scene of horror – the co-pilot was allegedly stabbing the pilot. Manes screamed , alerting passengers and drawing them to the cockpit. Four Israeli citizens rushed to the cockpit. They were joined by two off-roster pilots who took control of the plane and landed it at a small airport in the kingdom. Hayun was accompanied by Asaf Rajuan, an insurance agency owner, who helped overpower al-Hammami. The two were joined by Zvika Manes, CEO of Bank Leumi’s underwriting company, who tied up al-Hammami with earphones. Shota Musaev, a dentist, who was reportedly the only doctor on the flight, attended to the badly wounded Machchhar and provided first aid. “His head and his hands were practically sliced open, almost severed in two.
Because they wanted him to live to be investigated, israelis gave al-Hammami an oxygen mask. Because of the blood loss, he was in serious condition, not critical perhaps, but serious. The flydubai flight was carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children. He has been flying for flydubai for more than four years and has more than 13 years of commercial aviation experience, with more than 9,500 flying hours.
“We wanted him to live so he could be investigated,” Schlichter said. “We told them, “Now the policy is we’re in charge and you do what we say,’ ” Manes said. The four passengers were: Yaniv Hayun, a plumber who reportedly choked al-Hammami and then used lessons he picked up from the TV show “Mayday” to pull back on the yoke to stabilise the aircraft. Musaev told CNN that the pilot was covered in cuts. Machchhar, who is in his mid-30s, has been described as the ” true hero ” who helped save the lives of all passengers and crew members on board.
