Mother Recounts Terror Aboard Hijacked Flydubai Flight

A mother aboard a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv has recounted the terrifying ordeal of an attempted hijacking, during which the plane plunged 14,000 feet in 29 seconds. Lital Hirschl-Shahar, 39, described the moment she believed she and her four daughters were facing certain death, unsure which child to comfort first.

The incident occurred on Wednesday's Flydubai flight FZ1073 when the co-pilot, identified as Hamam Al Hammami, attacked the captain, Smit Machchhar, with a crash axe. Al Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani national, had reportedly asked to pray before striking the captain. A woman on board spotted the attack and alerted other passengers.

Four Israeli men intervened, wrestling Al Hammami to the ground and restraining him. During the struggle, the plane plummeted and rocked violently. Hirschl-Shahar, seated on the tenth row with her five-year-old daughter beside her, told the Daily Mail, "We saw death coming. We couldn't breathe... I tried to stay calm for my girls, but the screams were ones you can never forget. I just told them we are in God's hands."

Captain Machchhar, despite being struck on the back of the head, managed to open the cockpit door. He recounted, "I had that one last fight left in me... I gave everything that I had and just went for the door and opened the door and thankfully people were waiting."

Following the incident, the flight, carrying 182 people, was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. The plane had briefly transmitted a hijacking signal. Israel's defense minister attributed the thwarted attack to the heroism of several Israeli passengers.

Al Hammami had reportedly been banned from flying previously due to concerns about extremist views and had spent time in ISIS-controlled Syria. He had also studied at Buckinghamshire New University.

Hirschl-Shahar expressed gratitude for the passengers' intervention, stating, "We are Israelis, so unfortunately, we know how to immediately respond to these situations."

Despite initial fears about landing in Saudi Arabia, a country with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations, Hirschl-Shahar described the welcome as "amazing." She added, "We're in gratitude to them."

Captain Machchhar was praised for his actions, saving the lives of all 174 passengers on board and preventing what officials feared could have been a catastrophic event. He received an invitation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Israel as a guest of honor for the country's Independence Day ceremony.

Flydubai's Chief Executive Ghaith al Ghaith confirmed the flight diverted due to a "safety incident" inside the cockpit. The airline generally carries crash axes in the cockpit, accessible to crew, for emergency use.

Hirschl-Shahar described her family as suffering from "big trauma" following the event. Her message following the ordeal was, "Stop chasing the Jews."