Dr. Shota Musaev, the dentist who treated the wounded Indian captain aboard the Flydubai flight targeted in an attempted hijacking, said Thursday that his medical instincts — and the example set by his late parents — guided him as passengers fought to save the aircraft.
“I come from a family of doctors. My late father was a cardiologist and my late mother was a biologist, so I knew what to do when I was faced with the injured pilot,” Musaev, 47, said at his home in Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv.
Musaev was among a group of Israeli passengers who intervened during Wednesday’s dramatic flight to Tel Aviv after the Omani co-pilot allegedly tried to crash the aircraft. He said he saw three Israelis — Yaniv Hayun, Zvika Manes and Assaf Rajuan — rush the co-pilot and realized he had to help.
“My wife initially tried to stop me, but I saw there were heroes there and I joined them,” Musaev said. “At that moment, we didn’t think for even a second about our own lives or what might happen to us. We thought about how to save the entire plane.”
Musaev, who owns a dental clinic in Holon and was born in Georgia, helped restrain the suspected attacker before turning his attention to the wounded captain, Smit Machchhar.
“The captain told me he wanted to live and didn’t want to die there,” Musaev said. “There were moments when I thought we wouldn’t manage to land in time because he was bleeding heavily, but after we stopped the bleeding, his condition stabilized.”
Captain Smit Machchhar
(Photo: LinkedIn/Smit Machchhar)
Musaev said a series of chance events played a role in preventing a disaster, including a child going to the bathroom at a critical moment, the passengers who rushed the cockpit and additional pilots who happened to be aboard.
He said he now considers Hayun, Manes and Rajuan members of his family.
“I wrote in the WhatsApp group we created after the incident that all of us were born again yesterday,” he said. “We went through a historic event and even landed in Saudi Arabia.”
Passengers praise treatment in Saudi Arabia
The aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, where Musaev said passengers were treated well.
“There was some chaos after landing because the children were under a lot of stress,” he said. “Even very senior officials came and spoke with us, and they assigned doctors to us who made sure everything was OK.”
Israeli passengers await rescue flight from Saudia Arabia after attempted plane hijacking
(Photo: AFP PHOTO / Courtesy Of An Anonymous Source)
The Israeli passengers then faced another difficult decision: whether to board another Flydubai aircraft for the trip home to Ben Gurion Airport.
Musaev favored returning on the airline despite what had happened.
“I spoke with a very senior official and with the manager of the local airport,” he said. “I was on the side that said we should get on the flight, mainly because you can’t fly only on Israeli airlines. Despite the serious incident we experienced with Flydubai, you can’t simply rule them out.”
He said passengers ultimately made the decision together after learning that an Israeli aircraft would not be allowed to land there.
“I told everyone we needed to get on,” he said. “We told the parents with children that they would decide what we did, and in the end, when they said they wouldn’t allow an Israeli plane to land there, we made the decision together and boarded.”
Musaev said he took several girls into the cockpit to meet the pilots before the flight home.
Back with his wife and children Thursday, he said the enormity of what happened was only beginning to sink in.
“We’re emotional to be with them again and are starting to understand more deeply that we’re alive,” he said.
Musaev stressed that saving the plane had been a collective effort.
“The act of heroism was something we did together,” he said. “I tied up the terrorist pilot and then treated the other pilot. But the other three were the ones who entered the cockpit and neutralized the terrorist. Others took care of the children on the plane. We did everything together, hand in hand.”
‘I’m an upgraded plumber’
Hayun, 38, of Ness Ziona, helped stabilize the aircraft as the Omani co-pilot allegedly tried to disable the instrument panel.
On Thursday, Hayun responded to remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who described him as an Israeli plumber who had never flown a plane and rarely traveled by air but saw what was happening and intervened.
Yaniv Hayun
(Photo: Yariv Katz)
US President Donald Trump recounts Yaniv Hayun’s actions in helping subdue the suspected hijacker aboard the Flydubai flight
(Video: from X)
“I’m an upgraded plumber,” Hayun joked. “He wasn’t wrong. I don’t work at NASA and I don’t deal with space. I deal with stinking pipes, and he was right. I wasn’t offended.”
Hayun said he never imagined the U.S. president would talk about him.
“I never dreamed Trump would talk about me and what I did. I actually like his sense of humor,” he said. “It was amusing how he described it. I’m not exactly Bruce Lee. But I did manage to overpower the terrorist with a few other Israelis and pull him backward in a chokehold, and that’s the most important thing.”
Hayun said he had not slept since the ordeal.
“I just want to get back to my routine now, to work, to my truck,” he said. “I’m getting so much love and I thank everyone — everyone who was on that flight, who worked hand in hand and helped us get our lives back because they were hanging by a thread. I hope it doesn’t come back to me in my dreams.”
Herzog recommends civilian bravery awards
President Isaac Herzog spoke with the passengers who intervened and said he would recommend that Musaev, Hayun, Manes and Rajuan receive the Presidential Medal for Civilian Heroism, Israel’s highest civilian bravery award.
“At a time when the lives of so many people were in danger, you acted without hesitation, with courage, resourcefulness and extraordinary mutual responsibility,” Herzog told them. “You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster.”
President Isaac Herzog
(Photo: Shalev Shalom)
“Today, the whole world saw the beautiful and courageous face of Israeli society,” he added. “I am proud of you, and I thank you on behalf of the State of Israel.”
Herzog said he would bring their actions before the advisory committee responsible for the award and recommend that they receive the honor.
The president also praised the Indian captain, who fought the co-pilot and opened the cockpit door, allowing passengers to intervene.
Herzog later recommended Tali Manes, Zvika Manes’ wife, for the same civilian bravery award after further accounts indicated she played a crucial role in alerting passengers to the danger.
According to the President’s Residence, Manes heard violence and commotion coming from the cockpit and was the first to alert other passengers and call for help, prompting those who ultimately rushed in and subdued the suspected attacker.
After he was restrained, she continued to act, calling pilots who were traveling in the rear of the aircraft to come forward and help restore control of the plane.
“Tali, the more we learn about what happened in those dramatic moments, the clearer it becomes how significant a part you played in saving the lives of the passengers,” Herzog told her.
“You heard that something terrible was happening, immediately understood the scale of the danger, raised the alarm, called for help, and did not stop acting even after the attacker had been subdued,” he said. “The resourcefulness, responsibility, and composure you showed in moments of mortal danger are civilian heroism in the fullest sense of the word. You are a hero, Tali, and I am proud of you and thank you on behalf of the State of Israel.”