A terrifying mid-air plunge, a suspected jihadist co-pilot, and the extraordinary courage of an Israeli passenger — this was the harrowing scene that unfolded aboard a Flydubai jet, narrowly averted from catastrophe by the quick actions of Yaniv Hayun and other brave citizens.

Hayun, an Israeli passenger with an aviation background, became an unwitting hero when he helped overpower an Omani co-pilot accused by Israeli officials of stabbing the captain and attempting to crash the Tel Aviv-bound aircraft. The dramatic intervention, later hailed as heroic by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saw Hayun putting the attacker in a chokehold and, astonishingly, taking the controls of the plunging Boeing 737 himself.

The incident began when the aircraft, carrying 174 passengers including 27 children, suddenly dove more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. Israeli officials confirmed that the co-pilot had stabbed the captain and seemingly intended to send the plane plummeting.

“I grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and pulled him out,” Hayun recounted to Israeli news outlet Ynet. “I called the Israelis who were with us, jumped back in and pulled the controls. I started pulling them back.”

Hayun described forcing his way into the cockpit alongside another man, where the wounded captain had collapsed. Inside, neither pilot was in their seat, and the suspected attacker was positioned between them at the aircraft’s controls.

“When I walked in, I saw the attacker on the instruments, between the two seats,” Hayun told Prime Minister Netanyahu. “There were no pilots in the seats.”

When asked by Netanyahu what the attacker was doing, Hayun replied, “He was trying to destroy the instruments to… neutralize the aircraft.” Hayun firmly believed the objective was “to crash the plane.”

After dragging the attacker from the cockpit and securing him with the help of other Israeli passengers, Hayun rushed back to the controls. “I jumped back to the control, pulled the yoke,” he recalled. “I started pulling the yoke.”

In a stroke of luck, two other pilots were traveling as passengers. One of them was able to fully take over after Hayun’s initial, life-saving maneuver to level the aircraft. When Netanyahu asked if Hayun knew to pull backward, he light-heartedly quipped, “You see it on Mayday, Mr. Prime Minister.”

Hayun believes the wounded captain managed to unlock the cockpit door just before collapsing, enabling the passengers to access the flight deck. “My conclusion,” Hayun told Netanyahu, was that the captain managed to open it “before he collapsed.”

The terror in the cabin was palpable. Passenger Daniel described the ordeal: “The spinning stopped. It took some — I don’t know, it felt like an eternity, but I think it was two minutes, at least two or three minutes, during which the plane was simply diving and spinning like crazy. It felt like, that’s it. It’s over. September 11 is happening again.” Daniel, along with another passenger named Adam, rightly called those who rushed the cockpit “real heroes,” with Adam noting, “Three or four people saved 180 lives.”

Among those who assisted was Israeli dentist Musaev Shota, who helped restrain the attacker and provided emergency aid to the bleeding captain. Video recorded during the harrowing event showed the bloodied aftermath, with one passenger making a desperate appeal during the emergency landing preparations: “We’re here during the hijacking of an airplane. At this point we’ve subdued the terrorists, we’re approaching landing. Whoever is hearing me, we need help.”

The aircraft ultimately landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia, where authorities arrested the suspected attacker. After hours of waiting, all 174 passengers boarded a replacement Flydubai flight, escorted into Israeli airspace by fighter jets, bringing their nightmare to a triumphant end at Ben-Gurion Airport.

Defense Minister Israel Katz minced no words, calling it an “attempted jihadist terrorist attack,” with preliminary information indicating the attacker’s clear intent “to crash the plane with all its passengers.” While Flydubai confirmed an “altercation” and stated its crew secured the aircraft, they also cautioned that investigations into motive are ongoing.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had earlier lauded the passengers for preventing a “major disaster,” was at Ben-Gurion to greet Hayun and the other passengers. Embracing Hayun, still visibly bloodstained from the struggle, Netanyahu declared, “It’s simply unbelievable what you did, you know? Simply unbelievable. You didn’t just save everyone on the plane. You don’t know what could have happened to it. We don’t know what would have happened.” He added, unequivocally, “You are a hero.”

This incredible act of courage underscores the unwavering spirit of ordinary citizens when confronted with radical evil. It’s a testament to the fact that even in the most dire circumstances, American and allied values of self-preservation, bravery, and decisive action can triumph over attempts to sow chaos and destruction, reminding us all that vigilance and heroism are ever-present in the fight for freedom and security.