Who Was the Real Hero of the Foiled Hijacking? Injured Captain Casts Doubt on Israeli Plumber’s Claim

The captain of the FlyDubai flight whose hijacking and deliberate crash were foiled mid-air has expressed strong doubt about the role claimed by Israeli plumber Yaniv Hayun. Speaking in an interview from a hospital in Abu Dhabi, Captain Smit Machhar, an Indian national, asked pointedly whether a plumber could really land an aircraft.

The FlyDubai flight travelling from the United Arab Emirates to Israel on 30 September carried 172 passengers. The co-pilot, Hammam al-Hammami, 29, of Omani origin, allegedly struck Captain Machhar repeatedly with an axe and tried to crash the aircraft. In those terrifying moments the plane plunged more than 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds.

According to the Israeli authorities, Captain Machhar, though seriously injured, managed to open the cockpit door. Passengers then rushed in and subdued the attacker. Although the aircraft was descending rapidly, a major disaster was ultimately averted and the passengers survived.

Describing his own role afterwards, Yaniv Hayun told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he had grabbed the attacker by the throat, subdued him and dragged him out of the cockpit. The plumber even claimed he had learned how to control an aircraft by watching the television series “Air Crash Investigation” — a claim that drew wide attention at the time.

But in his interview with The National newspaper, Captain Machhar told a very different story. Hayun had claimed that he entered the cockpit, overpowered the attacker and helped land the plane. The captain said he had no memory of any such event. In his words, “To be honest, I know nothing about that plumber’s story.”

Captain Machhar added: “Can a plumber land a plane? I don’t want to get into speculation. But in answer to your question, at that moment my memory and all my strength were devoted solely to keeping myself alive.” His remarks have raised fresh questions about Hayun’s heroic account.

When he gave the interview at the Abu Dhabi hospital, Captain Machhar had bandages on his head and his left hand. He said his only goal in that situation was to survive. He also recalled that a senior member of the flight crew had told him the captain himself was controlling the aircraft.

Recounting the horror of that day, Machhar said that after the first blow he thought there was a major problem with the aircraft’s structure. But he quickly realised that his own co-pilot was attacking him and that the situation had turned grave.

He said: “My first thought then was that I had to get help somehow. I quickly unfastened my seat belt, freed myself and tried to fend off the blows as best I could. I was also injured in the hand while defending myself.” The blows, he said, were aimed directly at his head, making the situation life-threatening.

The UAE Attorney General said last week that co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami allegedly planned to hijack the aircraft and crash it into a terminal at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in a suicide attack. The plan was foiled by the captain’s intervention.

After the incident, the 29-year-old co-pilot was taken to the United Arab Emirates to be investigated on terrorism charges. As the investigation proceeds, a clearer picture may emerge of what actually happened in that cockpit — and of how large a role passenger Hayun really played.