Yaniv Hayun

Actions in cockpit

Hayun was a passenger onboard Flydubai Flight 1073 on 30 September 2026, on its way from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. He was returning back to Israel together with his wife and children. His family was attempting to come home, after a vacation to Vietnam. They were all seated together in row 11 on the airplane.

Civilians onboard the flight were heard screaming, after the copilot stabbed the captain Smit Machchhar, and the airplane entered a rapid descent in altitude. The plane dropped over 17,000 feet in under two minutes. Hayun noticed the lights turned off, and felt a change in pressure within the aircraft. Hayun heard passenger Tali Manas shout, "There’s a stabbing in the cockpit!" He then felt extreme turbulence in the aircraft. Hayun was the first individual among the passengers to get up from his seat and investigate the matter.

Hayun and other Israeli citizens hurried to the front of the airplane and were able to enter the cockpit, as Machchhar had been able to open it after being attacked. They initially had trouble entering the cockpit, as Machchhar had collapsed onto the floor from his injuries. Hayun was first among the responding passengers to successfully gain access to the cockpit. He and the other Israelis discovered the flight captain actively bleeding when they responded to him. Hayun observed the copilot attempting to destroy the airplane's control systems. He noticed there was no pilot actively controlling flying the plane. He grabbed the copilot in a chokehold and removed him from the cockpit.

After dealing with the assailant, Hayun then came back into the cockpit and took hold of the controls of the airplane himself. Hayun had previously never had formal education on flying an airplane. He was able to slow the airplane's rapid decrease in altitude by employing skills he had learned from watching the television show, Mayday (also known as Air Crash Investigation). Hayun pulled back on the yoke, and he successfully arrested the prior rapid descent of the airplane. After Hayun's initial actions in the cockpit, off-duty pilots were able to take over the controls from him and further stabilize the aircraft. The plane was able to land safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Prime Minister briefing

After the incident, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu personally left an online review for Hayun's company. Netanyahu gave Hayun a five-star-review and said he was, "a hero who has saved many lives".

Directly upon landing in Israel after flying from Saudi Arabia on a separate Flydubai airplane, Hayun was taken to a briefing with Prime Minister Netanhayu. Upon his arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, Hayun had not had an opportunity to change clothes, and still wore the bloody garments soiled during his struggle with the copilot in the cockpit. He explained to Netanyahu about his efforts to stop the copilot's attack on the captain. Netanyahu hugged Hayun, and told him, "I look at you and I see a lion. I see a great hero." He said Hayun helped prevent a disaster akin to the September 11 attacks.

United States Embassy meeting

Subsequent to his briefing with the Israeli Prime Minister, after Hayun returned to Israel he was invited by United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to a meeting at the Embassy of the United States, Jerusalem. Ambassador Huckabee told Hayun, "If it had not been for you, not only would we not be having this conversation, but almost 200 families would not be celebrating this weekend." He told Hayun that President of the United States Donald Trump was "incredibly impressed" with his courageous acts of putting the lives of others on the airplane over and above himself. Huckabee presented Hayun with a baseball cap signed by Trump, on behalf of the American citizens and the U.S. President. Hayun told Huckabee the events on the airplane consisted of, "a collection of small miracles that came together to form a much larger miracle". Huckabee concluded the meeting, telling Hayun , "Just remember that if I'm ever on a plane with you and something goes wrong, I'm going to be looking for you."

Israel

For his life-saving efforts on Flydubai Flight 1073, President of Israel Isaac Herzog recognized Hayun with the country's Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism. It is Israel's highest honor possible for civilian bravery. Herzog recognized Hayun for putting his own life in danger to help save others on the airplane. He said without the actions of Hayun, their country would have faced a "terrible disaster". Alongside Hayun, six total Israelis who helped in the rescue efforts were honored by Herzog.

The Israeli city of Ness Ziona declared that they chose Hayun to honor with the City Hero Citation.

Members of Israeli Basketball Premier League team, Ironi Ness Ziona B.C., visited Hayun and his family to congratulate him on his actions. Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. founder Yaniv Mizrahi came to visit Hayun and his family, along with basketball players Jacob Wiley, Adam Ariel, and Meir Tapiro. They heard from Hayun, his wife Meital, and their two daughters on their experiences on the flight. The meeting concluded with a presentation to the family of a jersey and scarf of the team, along with a formal invitation for the family to be guests of honor at the first home game of the season for Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. Basketball player Ariel commented, "We were moved to visit Yaniv and the Hayun family and listen to an extraordinary story of courage and determination that inspired us. We wish the family only the best and will be delighted to host them at Lev Hamoshava."

United States

President of the United States Donald Trump was initially briefed on 30 September 2026 about the incident on Flydubai Flight 1073, in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. It was in this call that President Trump learned an Israeli plumber had stabilized the aircraft after the attack in the cockpit. During a news conference at the White House, Trump acknowledged, "It's an incredible story." He said of Hayun, "In a way, he was a hero."

President Trump followed up on his initial comments, in a 3 October 2026 video he posted about Hayun specifically, to his social media platform, Truth Social. He praised the actions of Hayun on the plane, stating, "He did an amazing job. He got in there and he learned how to fly by watching air disasters on television." Trump called Hayun courageous, and said, "And he's my kind of guy. He can be my plumber. He can be whatever he wants to be. What a job he did. He's a hero." Trump concluded by extolling Hayun by name, "I want to just congratulate him and his family. You like me, and I like you. Thank you. Yaniv."

On 6 October 2026, the United States House of Representatives entered a bipartisan resolution that recognized the Israeli passengers that responded to the incident on the airplane, and Captain Smit Machchhar, for their "extraordinary courage" displayed after the attack by the copilot. They commended the passengers, flight crew, and off-duty pilots for their actions. The U.S. Congress wished Machchhar and others injured a full recovery.