Israeli President Isaac Herzog has awarded the Presidential Medal of Civilian Heroism to six pᴀssengers who intervened aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073 after the co-pilot attacked the captain. The ceremony took place at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem roughly a week after the September 30 incident. The recipients are Tali Manes, Zvika Manes, Yaniv Hayoun, Asaf Rajuan, Or Bardilov (also referred to as Or Pardilov in some reports), and dentist Dr. SH๏τa Musayev. According to Herzog’s office and pᴀssenger accounts, Tali Manes was near the front of the cabin with her young daughter when she heard a violent struggle and screams from the cockpit and immediately raised the alarm.
Her husband Zvika Manes, Hayoun, Rajuan, and Bardilov then moved forward. After Captain Smit Machchhar managed to unlatch the reinforced cockpit door despite his injuries, the pᴀssengers entered and confronted the attacker. Hayoun, a plumber, has said he placed the co-pilot in a chokehold, pulled him away from the instrument panel, and briefly pulled back on the control column to arrest the dive, drawing on knowledge gained from watching the television series Air 𝔠r𝘢sh Investigation. The group worked for an extended period, by some accounts 20 to 30 minutes, to fully subdue and restrain the co-pilot using headphone cables and other materials. Dr. Musayev provided urgent medical care to the bleeding captain, working to control hemorrhage and keep him conscious until the aircraft reached the ground.
Off-duty flydubai pilots who were traveling as pᴀssengers then ᴀssumed the controls and completed the diversion to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Herzog praised the six for choosing life in the moment of danger and said their actions helped prevent a major aviation disaster. He has also stated that Captain Machchhar will receive the same medal once he recovers. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have highlighted the pᴀssengers’ role in overpowering the attacker and stabilizing the aircraft after the captain opened the door. Videos and pᴀssenger statements described chaos in the cabin, blood, and the restrained co-pilot. All approximately 174 people on board survived and were later transferred onward. The awards recognize a chain of rapid, instinctive decisions by people who were not trained security personnel yet responded to an unfolding emergency inside a pressurized aircraft at alтιтude. The UAE has classified the co-pilot’s actions as an attempted terrorist act, while investigations continue into motive and any wider connections.
