On 30-9, the world was rocked by the unbelievable scenes of courage, bravery and singular heroism of the pilot and passengers of flydubai FZ-1073 on 30 September 2026, as they staved off an attempt by an Omani co-pilot to crash the aircraft or, as some allege, perform a 9/11-type attack on Israel

The bravery of Captain Smit Machchhar, as he was being hacked by his second-in-command, has passed into global aviation folklore that even seasoned pilots and aviation professionals may never be able to comprehend. To be brutally attacked and stabbed with the aircraft crash axe (the actual details are still sketchy), and then turn on the transponders to 7700 and again to 7500 to warn the external world, speaks of a clarity of mind and singular purpose by Captain Smit that is unthinkable. In moments of personal danger, where the only eventuality is a certain death, human beings draw on their reservoirs of courage to do what the captain did, and crawled to the cockpit door to unlock it, even as the first officer kept denying access to outside crew using the emergency code.

Further actions of Tali and Nina Manes, warning the passengers of what was happening in the cockpit, the quick-fire response of Yaniv Hayoun, and the actions of the two reserve pilots, without a doubt, saved the lives of 174 passengers that day.

The flight radar data has shocked the world of aviation. How could a 737 descend that rapidly without breaking up or suffering major critical damage? The pressure exerted by the “almost freefall” was many Gs more than the aircraft could withstand. Yet we saw how it landed, battered and bruised. The apparent act of the Israeli plumber Yaniv Hayoun, of pulling the yoke back and stabilising the aircraft, is out of an adventure story, but we know it happened. People question, how come none of the passengers suffered the injuries that we saw in the Air India Phuket flight or last year’s Singapore Airlines flight? Was the fact that they were all buckled in, entering sterile Israeli airspace, the reason? We may........

© The Pioneer