Flydubai news: A plummeting plane, an altercation in the cockpit and a hero passenger who drew on his learnings from years of watching a TV show that recreates major air disasters to save the plane that plunged 17,000 feet.

The Flydubai flight incident has made headlines worldwide. While Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar is being praised for his quick thinking despite being severely injured, social media users are equally intrigued by the story of a ‘hero’ passenger who reportedly saved the plane from crashing after drawing on something he had learned from watching a TV show, Air Crash Investigation, also known as Mayday: Air Disaster. It’s a Canadian documentary series about aviation accidents.

A Canadian docuseries Mayday helped passenger avert air crash

The passenger named Yaniv Hayoun claimed that he rushed into the cockpit after Machchhar opened the cockpit access door despite being injured and confronted the alleged attacker.

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In a viral video, Yaniv can be seen meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and recounting the incident. He said, “In my opinion, the stabbed pilot managed to open the cockpit before he collapsed.” He added, “When I went inside, I saw the attacker on the instrument panel between the two seats. There were no pilots in the seats. One was on the floor, one was on the instruments, and someone else had come in with me.”

Explaining how he helped regain control of the aircraft, Yaniv said, “I grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and dragged him out first.”

A curious Netanyahu asked, “What was he doing on those machines?”

Yaniv replied, “He was trying to destroy the instruments to disable the plane.” He continued, “We got him out. It all happened in seconds and the plane’s nose was pitched like this,” he said, gesturing downwards to indicate the aircraft diving towards the ground.

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He added, “I called out to a bunch of Israelis on board, and two other guys came over. We pinned him down. I jumped back, grabbed the controls and started pulling back the handles.”

Netanyahu then asked, “You are easing the handles back? Did you know how?”

It was at this point that Yaniv revealed that watching the Canadian docuseries had helped him understand what to do. “Yes. I watch Air Crash Investigation, Mr Prime Minister,” he said.

His answer left Netanyahu laughing.

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Yaniv continued, “The plane started to level out a bit, and then the pilot told me he was taking over the controls from there.”

What is Air Crash Investigation?

First aired in 2003, Air Crash Investigation has so far aired hundreds of episodes. The documentary series, produced by Cineflix, examines air crashes, near-crashes, fires, hijackings, bombings and other aviation disasters.

The series delves into the events that led to each crisis or disaster, examining their causes as determined by official investigating bodies. It also explores measures that could help prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

The programme uses reenactments, interviews, eyewitness testimony, computer-generated imagery, cockpit voice recordings and official reports to reconstruct the sequence of events behind each incident.

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What happened on the Flydubai flight?

Flydubai fight from Dubai to Tel Aviv faced a mid-air emergency when one pilot allegedly attacked the other and apparently tried to crash the plane carrying 174 people. The co-pilot reportedly stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar, who managed to open the cockpit door, allowing crew and passengers to enter the cockpit and bring the situation under control.The plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

While the identity of the co-pilot who allegedly attacked the captain has not been disclosed, Israeli officials have identified him as an Omani national.