The plumber who became a hero of Flight 1073

When an emergency unfolded aboard a flydubai aircraft, Yaniv Hayun faced a choice familiar to most people in a crisis: remain where he was or step forward and try to help. He chose to act, becoming one of the heroes who helped 174 people make it out alive. 

The Israeli shared his experience in Cape Town on Sunday 8 November and in Johannesburg on Monday 9 November at events presented by The Base and the Jewish National Fund South Africa (JNF SA) in association with the Israel Centre, South African Zionist Federation (SAZF), and the Wilfred and Fay Back Charitable Trust. 

The Cape Town event was described as a global first as it was the first time Hayun shared his story before a live audience. He spoke in conversation with David Cohen, chairperson of the SAZF Cape Council, who provided a simultaneous translation from the Hebrew. 

JNF SA chairperson Michael Kransdorff introduced them, describing Hayun as someone who had the courage to believe he could make a difference when others needed help. 

Hayun was returning from Vietnam with his wife and three daughters on the flydubai aircraft. The emergency therefore didn’t involve only strangers; his own family was directly affected. 

The Omani pilot of the flight to Israel, who later turned out to be a terrorist, greeted everyone as they boarded, including many families. “I don’t know how this monster could greet children boarding the plane when he knew what he was planning to do,” Hayun said. 

Two-thirds of the way into the flight, Hayun heard a noise from the front of the plane. A female passenger was shouting that someone had been stabbed. Hayun later learned that this passenger had accompanied her young daughter to the toilet, just outside the cockpit. While there, they heard a commotion in the cockpit. 

A pilot who wasn’t flying the plane at the time but rather seated in the front of the aircraft tried to open the door to the cockpit with both hands and all of his body weight and strength. He was briefly successful before the Omani pilot shut the door and held it closed from inside the cockpit. 

In the moment the door was briefly open, the female passenger was able to see that the cockpit was covered in blood, and the Indian pilot, Smit Machchhar, had been stabbed. Upon hearing her cries, Hayun immediately felt compelled to help. “It’s strange to think that in a sense I became involved because a little girl and her mother went to the toilet on a flight,” he said. 

The plane rapidly dropped thousands of metres, tilted and dived, before eventually evening out enough for Hayun to get up and run to the cockpit. He managed to get inside and put the Omani pilot in a chokehold, forcing him out of the cockpit. 

Hayun isn’t a pilot or an aviation professional. He owns a waste management company and previously served as a soldier and worked as a cook. Yet, when the situation aboard the aircraft demanded action, he responded. 

An unexpected source of preparation was a television programme about air crash investigations. Hayun told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the incident that watching the programme had helped him understand what to do when the emergency unfolded. 

He returned to the cockpit and pulled back the yoke, or control column, in an attempt to stabilise the plane. Two off-duty pilots, one of whom is South African, were able to take over and safely execute an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. 

“Everyone clapped and cheered when we landed,” Hayun recalled. An ambulance was on the tarmac to take Machchhar to hospital. 

Hayun wanted to ensure that authorities were aware of the Omani pilot’s actions. 

He was connected via a fellow passenger’s cellphone to Israeli authorities who said that nobody from the flight should board a replacement flydubai flight, which airline staff were encouraging them to do, but should rather wait for an Israeli plane that they were trying to organise, despite bureaucratic challenges. 

“The next thing I know I get a call from the prime minister,” Hayun told the audience. Netanyahu assured him that an Israeli plane was coming to get them. The plane eventually came, and upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport, the passengers clapped, cheered, and sang simcha songs such as David Melech Yisrael. 

Following the ordeal, Hayun was invited to meet Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee respectively. After their meeting, Netanyahu personally left a five-star Google rating for Hayun’s sewage pumping business. Herzog honoured Hayun with the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism, Israel’s highest award possible for civilian bravery. 

The evening in Cape Town highlighted Hayun’s reluctance to take sole credit for what had happened. His actions formed part of a collective response by people who recognised the seriousness of the situation and chose to intervene. 

But Hayun also received the Hineni Award from the Friends of Zion Museum, recognising his willingness to take responsibility when others needed help. Hineni (Here I am) is a Hebrew expression associated with the biblical figures Abraham and Moses. Both used it when responding to G-d’s call, despite not necessarily knowing what would be required of them. 

Hayun’s experience also raised questions about individual heroism and collective responsibility. The people who helped alongside him were also acknowledged. The Indian pilot and the other individuals involved demonstrated how a person’s willingness to act can encourage others to do the same. 

An ordinary passenger, travelling with his family, found himself in circumstances that required him to act. His willingness to do so became part of a collective effort that helped save lives.