Israel President Herzog nominates four Israeli flydubai heroes for Presidential Award for Civil Heroism
By ALAN SMASON
President Issac Herzog announced on Wednesday that he was nominating four Israelis whose actions yesterday resulted in saving the lives of everyone on board.
Israel President Issac Herzog
According to witness accounts, when the flydubai flight was at cruising altitude at 34,000 feet, one of the two pilots repeatedly stabbed the other pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar. Despite serious injuries and a good deal of loss of blood, Captain Machchhar screamed, stood up and opened the cockpit door, permitting his rescue by four Israeli passengers who acted swiftly to overcome the terrorist pilot.
The four Israelis were identified as Yaniv Hayoun, Dr. Shota Musayev, Zvika Manes, and Asaf Rajuan.
According to reports, after realizing something was wrong, Hayoun, Manes, and Rajuan rushed past the open cockpit door and overpowered and subdued the attacking pilot. While Dr. Musayev tended to the seriously wounded pilot and stabilized him, Hayoun steadied the aircraft’s controls, claiming afterwards that he learned how to do so by watching television.
Alterted to several emergency warnings, Israeli jets were quickly dispatched to assess the situation prior to the plane being diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing.
Improbably, a flight crew flying on a deadhead were aboard the same flight and later were able to enter the cockpit and make the emergency landing once it was secured.
President Herzog spoke with the four Israelis after they arrived home on a second flydubai flight from Saudi Arabia.The original aircraft suffered heavy damage to its tail section during the steep dive it suffered during the hijacking and attempted crash. “You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster,'” the prime minister said. “Today, the whole world saw the beautiful and courageous face of Israeli society. I am proud of you, and I thank you on behalf of the State of Israel.”
Herzog informed them of his intention to bring their story of heroism before the advisory committee for the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism and to recommend that the award be granted to all four.
Herzog also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Captain Machchhar, who is in serious but stable condition at a hospital in Saudi Arabia.
“It wasn’t only my heroism,” Hayoum explained to the president. “Everyone who was there and came near the cockpit was part of it. We were all heroes. All the passengers were heroes. We supported one another on the plane and also when we arrived in Saudi Arabia, and we took care of each other as we should. It shows our strength as a people.”
In his conversation with Zvika Manes, President Herzog also asked to thank his wife, Tali, who was the first person to recognize something was amiss and encouraged her husband to respond.
“It was an extraordinary incident,” Rajoun added. “We felt helpless, suspended in midair, and I didn’t know who to turn to. But it was all instinct: to survive, to save the family, the people, and the children.”
The Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism is Israel’s highest civilian award for heroism. It was established by President Herzog during the war to honor individuals who acted with exceptional heroism, at real risk to their own lives, out of mutual responsibility, and in order to save human life. The award is granted following a review of each case and the recommendation of an advisory committee appointed by the President. In recent years, the award has been presented to extraordinary Israeli heroes, some of whom distinguished themselves on October 7, 2023, in the communities in southern Israel, as well as in other cases.
