November 1, 2026
The pilots who saved the Flydubai passengers received awards of recognition
תמונה: לשכת העיתונות הממשלתית של איחוד האמירויות
The two pilots who landed the Flydubai plane after the attempted attack received awards of recognition in the UAE.
The two are Hanson Stephen from Fiji and Rowan Toth from South Africa.
They safely landed the plane in Saudi Arabia, even though part of its tail was broken.
About a month ago, during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the co-pilot from Oman attacked the pilot Samit Machhar with an axe.
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Machhar was severely injured in the head but managed to open the cockpit door.
Israeli passengers entered the cockpit, overpowered the attacker, and tied him with headphone cables. Stephen and Toth, who were on the plane in preparation for the return flight, took control and landed it in the city of Tabuk.
Machhar also received an award of recognition and attended the ceremony in uniform, with scars on his head and his arm in a sling. The President of the UAE asked him when he would recover. Machhar replied that it would be in about two months.