'Miracle 30 seconds': How a bloodied pilot, a plumber and a dentist saved 174 lives

Drenched in blood, the captain summoned his last reserves of strength to unlock the cockpit door. Passengers and crew waiting outside rushed in and overpowered the co-pilot who had attacked him. In less than 30 seconds, a jet that had been plunging nearly 4,300 meters barely managed to stabilize.

The desperate response of Captain Sumit Machar and the swift actions of passengers — among them a plumber, a dentist and off-duty pilots — are being credited as the decisive factors that prevented a catastrophe aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday (local time). Those who acted alongside the Indian-born captain helped subdue the Omani co-pilot suspected of carrying out the attack, saving all 174 people on board.

The Guardian reported that "it was not just one captain who saved the passengers," adding that "a plumber who grabbed the controls, a dentist who administered first aid, off-duty pilots and crew members — each acting in their own place — together protected the lives of 174 people."

Machar collapsed to the cockpit floor after the co-pilot attacked him with a bladed weapon. Severely wounded and bleeding, he fought through the pain and managed to press the button to release the cockpit door. Once it opened, passengers and crew rushed in and restrained the suspect.

During the struggle to subdue the suspect, the aircraft plunged roughly 14,000 feet (about 4,300 meters) in under 30 seconds.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Machar as a hero on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, saying he had shown "strong courage and unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others even in the face of extreme danger and grievous injury" and had "saved hundreds of lives and averted a major tragedy."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also praised Machar, saying he "resisted and opened the cockpit door despite being seriously wounded by a bladed weapon," allowing "passengers and crew to overpower the attacker."

The Guardian said "ultimately, the moment that determined the fate of all 174 passengers was when the bloodied Machar opened the cockpit door."

Machar was not the only hero in what could have become a second 9/11.

According to the Guardian, among the passengers who rushed into the cockpit was Israeli plumber Yaniv Hayun, who grabbed the controls of the rapidly descending aircraft while helping to subdue the co-pilot.

Hayun told the Guardian, "I ran to the back, grabbed the controls and pulled the handle back — I did what I saw on a TV show." Other crew members and pilots then took over the controls.

Israeli dentist Shota Musayev also ran to the cockpit. When he entered, the co-pilot was straddling the fallen Machar and wielding a bladed weapon. Musayev helped overpower the co-pilot and then administered first aid to Machar, who had lost a great deal of blood. He also joined other passengers in binding the co-pilot with headphone cords and plastic cable ties.

Musayev described the scene, saying "there were cuts all over his body — his head, his hands — and his hand was so badly injured it was nearly severed. He had lost so much blood that his condition was critical. If we had been even a little later, we would have lost him."

But there were still more rescuers on board. Off-duty pilots were also among the passengers.

One passenger told the BBC "there were two relief pilots from Europe on board, and one of them — a British pilot — entered the cockpit, pulled the nose up, took the controls, stabilized the aircraft and landed it in Saudi Arabia."

Aviation experts expressed astonishment that the aircraft did not crash despite most of its tail rudder being destroyed during the dive. Steve Arroyo, an aviation safety expert and former United Airlines pilot, said "if the rudder was damaged to that extent, it means an enormous aerodynamic force was applied," adding that "it is remarkable the aircraft did not break apart in midair."

Another aviation expert, Jeff Guzzetti, said "what saved them was that there was still enough altitude to recover the aircraft," explaining that "if it had dropped below 10,000 feet, they might not have been able to return to level flight."