A plumber and a dentist are praised as heroes in FlyDubai near-disaster

A dentist and other passengers wrestled with a violent copilot. A plumber seized the controls of the plane as it plunged toward the desert. And that's after the captain managed to open the cockpit door while being stabbed, helping to save all 174 people.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A dentist and other passengers wrestled with a violent copilot. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, put it: “Hollywood isn’t creative enough to come up with stories like this!” While major questions remained unanswered Thursday about the attacker and his motivation, the tale of everyday heroes saving the FlyDubai flight from disaster quickly became legend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warmly embraced the plumber shortly after the passengers’ arrival in Tel Aviv late Wednesday, and later posted a five-star review for Yaniv Hayoun’s professional services, calling him “a hero who has saved many lives.” “He can help you too — I highly recommend him!” Netanyahu added on X.

Hayoun was among several Israelis recommended for the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism, while Indian Capt. Smit Machchhar was praised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “a HERO.” One met the prime minister wearing a bloody shirt Many of the details emerged in a rush shortly after the passengers, most of them Israeli, landed back home to cheers and waving flags. Hayoun, apologizing for his bloody shirt, within minutes was telling the prime minister and journalists what happened.

There had been little time for him and the others to think. Passengers screamed after spotting the copilot stabbing the captain, and the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv began a steep dive. Some believed they were about to die.

A handful of Israelis reacted, hurtling up the aisle after the badly wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door. That was crucial, as cockpit doors are typically locked to prevent hijackings. They had to struggle, Hayoun said, with the captain’s body resting against it.

The plumber seized the controls, just like in the movies Hayoun said the copilot appeared to be trying to damage the plane’s controls. He grabbed the copilot, and others began struggling with the man. He had no training, but he remembered what he had seen in movies.