The dramatic rescue of FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 on September 30, 2026, has taken an even more remarkable turn with accounts of an Israeli plumber who had never flown a plane helping to stop a catastrophic dive. President Trump retold a version of the story he heard from Israeli officials, describing how the passenger yanked the attacking co-pilot out of his seat, other travelers pinned the man down, and the plumber then grabbed the controls to lift and level the plunging Boeing 737. “Lifted it up. And leveled out the plane before it crashed. This is the story that I heard. I don’t know if it’s true,” Trump said. The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv had dropped roughly 17,000 feet after Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar with a cockpit axe. Whoever charged into that cockpit during the chaos is widely credited with helping save more than 170 lives on board.

FlyDubai has stated that crew members who were riding as passengers ultimately landed the jet safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after both the captain and co-pilot were injured. One passenger told the BBC that two spare pilots scheduled for a later flight took over the controls once the attacker was restrained. The full sequence remains under investigation by authorities in Israel, the UAE, the United States and other countries, including questions about possible terror links tied to the co-pilot’s background and social media. Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayun has been identified as one of the key figures who helped overpower the attacker and briefly stabilize the aircraft. The incident continues to draw attention for the extraordinary passenger intervention that prevented a far worse outcome as the plane hurtled downward.