New Delhi: The passengers of a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight that plunged thousands of feet on Wednesday spent minutes fearing they were about to die and then some found themselves rushing towards the cockpit, restraining the pilot, and helping get the aircraft safely on the ground in an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Their accounts, given in television interviews, videos recorded inside the aircraft and conversations after they returned to Israel, describe the flight from Dubai as a succession of sudden drops, screams, blood and confusion. Some passengers said they helped overpower the co-pilot after he allegedly attacked the captain — Indian national Smit Machchhar; others recalled the terrifying feeling of the aircraft nosediving and the moment people sprang into action.
The Boeing 737, carrying 174 people, plunged about 17,000 feet in less than two minutes before eventually diverting to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Israeli officials said the co-pilot had stabbed the captain and tried to interfere with the aircraft’s controls, while flydubai described the incident as an “altercation”. The aircraft was later flown back to Israel, where the passengers were met by families and crowds at Ben Gurion Airport.
Here are some passenger accounts from the flydubai flight ordeal.
‘It was like a movie’
Yaniv Hayun was one of the passengers who went into the cockpit to subdue the co-pilot.
Speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after returning home, Hayun said he realised something was wrong when the aircraft suddenly plummeted. He and another passenger tried to open the cockpit door but found the injured pilot close to it. Before collapsing, the pilot managed to open the door, Hayun said.
“When I entered, I saw the attacker on the instruments, between the two seats,” Hayun recalled.
Hayun said he grabbed the man, put him in a chokehold and pulled him out of the cockpit. He then called other passengers forward and, together, they pinned the man down.
יניב, אתה גיבור אמיתי. אנחנו עם של אריות! pic.twitter.com/55AgmAvzIG
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 30, 2026
He returned to the cockpit and began pulling at the controls, he told Netanyahu, bloodstains on his clothes.
When the prime minister asked whether he knew what he was doing, Hayun replied: “I saw it on Mayday, Mr Prime Minister.” It’s a documentary series on air crash investigation.
Hayun said the aircraft began to level out before another pilot, who was among the passengers, took control.
He was still wearing the bloodstained shirt when he met Netanyahu after landing.
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‘Like a rollercoaster’
For Almog Itali, the first sign that something was wrong was the sensation of falling.
“Suddenly the aeroplane started to, like a rollercoaster, to drop down like a massive G-force,” he told BBC Newsnight.
The aircraft fell rapidly for what Itali estimated was 20 or 30 seconds before stabilising, he said. Then it began descending again.
That was when he saw passengers rushing towards the cockpit.
“Apparently one of the pilots stopped the other one and a couple of passengers and crew members took over and knocked it down,” Itali said.
He said several of the passengers who intervened suffered minor injuries.
“They are very brave,” Itali said. “They literally saved our lives.”
A sloppy welcome
Nathan, another passenger on the flight, was greeted by an especially enthusiastic welcome when he finally returned home — from his small terrier. In a television interview after landing in Israel, Nathan spoke about the ordeal as his dog repeatedly licked his face, turning an otherwise tense account of the flight into an emotional reunion.
The moment, captured live on TV, was a lighter moment capturing the relief among passengers after hours of uncertainty.
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‘I am still in shock’
Asaf Rejwan, who had been returning from a family holiday in Thailand, was another passenger who became involved in the struggle in the cockpit.
In an interview after reaching Israel, Rejwan recalled the roughly 55 minutes during which the suspect was held.
“I am still in shock. It was like a movie,” he said.
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‘We tied him up’
Zvika Meness told Israeli public broadcaster Kan that he helped overpower the attacker.
Meness said he and two other passengers restrained the man using his own zip ties and the cords from multimedia headphones.
He also said another pilot who had been sitting among the passengers went into the cockpit and took over the aircraft.
‘Scary as hell’
Lital Shachar was on the flight with her daughters. She recounted what went on in her mind when the flight plunged.
“It was scary as hell. There were thoughts that we didn’t survive, that we wouldn’t make it,” she said after de-boarding the plane. “There were amazing Israeli men and women on the flight and we survived because of them.”
"There were amazing Israeli men and women on the flight and we survived because of them" pic.twitter.com/caeB9rsy4b
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 30, 2026
‘Thank God I’m alive’
Haim Lazarovich, speaking to journalists after returning to Israel, said: “Thank God I’m alive.”
He described the moment when the aircraft appeared to lose control as the most frightening part of the flight.
“The most terrifying moment in this flight was when the pilot lost control,” he said.
Oren Cohen, 18, recalled hearing his brother screaming that they were going to die. What may have lasted only a few minutes, he said, felt much longer.
“Maybe it was five minutes, but it feels like hell,” Cohen said.
Inside the aircraft
Some passengers were also recording as the incident unfolded.
In one video, a passenger said one person had been stabbed and that passengers had managed to get him away from the aircraft. He said the plane was heading for an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia and that the passengers were safe, apart from the injured pilot.
Asaf Rejwan, too, recorded a video from inside the aircraft with blood visible on his head. He said the passengers had taken control of the situation and that they had “neutralised the terrorist”, before saying they were landing in “a swamp” and needed help.
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Back home
By the time the passengers reached Ben Gurion Airport, the fear had given way to relief.
Crowds gathered to welcome them home, waving Israeli flags, singing, dancing and playing music as the passengers emerged from the terminal. Families embraced relatives who had spent hours unsure of what had happened to them.
Some passengers were visibly emotional as they came off the aircraft. An Israeli ambulance service paramedic told the BBC that several were crying as they arrived.
Rejwan, speaking to reporters outside the airport, said he was happy to be back home.
“I am happy to be back in this country that takes great care of us and I am glad we have come back,” he said.