Netanyahu, Herzog and US envoy honour passengers who subdued flydubai pilot

Israelis who helped overpower a pilot who attacked his colleague aboard a flydubai flight bound for Israel were received by the country's leadership on Thursday, 1 October 2026. According to the Prime Minister's Office, Benjamin Netanyahu hosted several of them at his office and told them they would light a torch of civic heroism on Independence Day. On the same day, President Isaac Herzog's office said he had spoken with the passengers and intended to recommend them for the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism.

A day later, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met Yaniv Hayoun, one of the passengers who entered the cockpit. Ynet reported that Huckabee told him his courage had saved many people. The Telegram news channel Abu Ali Express reported that the ambassador thanked him on behalf of President Donald Trump and presented him with a MAGA cap signed by Trump.

What the President's Office says happened

The fullest account so far comes from the President's Spokesperson. It says that during a flydubai flight from Dubai to Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other and the aircraft started to drop. The Indian pilot, named as Captain Smit Machchhar, struggled with his attacker and managed to open the cockpit door.

Tali Manes, a passenger, was described as the first person to realise something was wrong and to warn others. Her husband Zvika Manes, together with Yaniv Hayoun and Asaf Rajuan, then went into the cockpit and overpowered the assailant, while Hayoun held the aircraft's controls steady. Dr. Shota Musayev then treated the wounded pilot, who the statement said was seriously hurt, until the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The statement adds that, after the attacker was restrained, Tali Manes asked pilots sitting further back in the cabin to come forward and help regain control of the aircraft. The Netanyahu release quotes testimony from the meeting that the attacker was tied up using a headphone cable and that he repeatedly asked to be killed.

The two official lists differ

The two government releases do not name the same group. The Prime Minister's Office lists those it met as Yaniv Hayun, Or Pardilov, Dr. Shota Musayev and his wife Sigalit. The President's Office names Yaniv Hayoun, Dr. Shota Musayev, Zvika Manes and Asaf Rajuan as the original four, and in a later update added Tali Manes after receiving further testimony about her role. Or Pardilov and Sigalit Musayev do not appear in the President's account, and Zvika Manes and Asaf Rajuan do not appear in the Prime Minister's. The two offices also spell the surname Hayun and Hayoun respectively. Neither release explains the difference.

What the honours mean

The Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism, according to the President's Office, was created by Herzog during the war to recognise people who risked their lives to save others, and is described as Israel's highest civilian award for heroism. Candidates are reviewed case by case, and an advisory committee appointed by the President makes the recommendation. The office notes that past recipients include people who acted in communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas-led attack. Herzog said he would bring the case to that committee, so the award has been recommended rather than granted.

Netanyahu's reference to a torch points to the state ceremony that opens Israel's Independence Day, in which a small number of selected citizens each light a torch on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. The release does not say which of the passengers would take part.

Herzog also thanked Captain Machchhar on behalf of the state, crediting his actions with making it possible to restrain the attacker. Netanyahu, speaking in Hebrew according to his office, urged Israelis to stay alert, saying the country was in a "very sensitive time" and that its enemies intend to harm it.

What the passengers said

In the President's Office account, Musayev stressed that the effort was collective, saying everyone who approached the cockpit was part of it and that passengers looked after one another, including after landing in Saudi Arabia. Rajuan described feeling helpless in midair and said he acted on instinct to protect his family and the other passengers, including children. Hayoun said he was glad the episode was over and thanked the President for the call.

What the reports do not say

None of the material identifies the pilot who carried out the stabbing, gives his nationality, or states a motive. The President's Office filed its release under the topic of terrorism, and Netanyahu spoke of enemies seeking to harm Israel, but no report sets out an official finding about the attacker's intent or his current status.

The reports do not give the date of the flight, its flight number, its destination airport in Israel, or how many people were on board. They do not say where in Saudi Arabia the plane landed, how passengers returned to Israel, or what condition the wounded pilot is in now. The account of Huckabee's gift of a signed cap comes from a single Telegram channel and does not appear in the Ynet alert, and the discrepancy between the two government lists of passengers remains unexplained.