The alarm in the passenger cabin had first been raised by an Israeli passenger, Tali Manes, who heard a violent commotion and shouting coming from the cockpit area. Her husband, Zvika Manes, immediately sprang into action alongside three other passengers: Yaniv Hayun, Dr. Shota Musayev, and Asaf Rajuan. Seizing the opportunity when Captain Machchhar managed to partially open the secure door from the inside, the men rushed into the cockpit to confront the attacker.
Yaniv Hayun, one of the passengers who entered the flight deck, described the chaotic scene inside. In a video statement released by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Hayun recalled that the co-pilot was actively and frantically trying to destroy the cockpit’s flight instruments in a deliberate attempt to disable the aircraft and prevent anyone from recovering control. Hayun acted quickly, placing the attacker in a chokehold and physically dragging him out of the cockpit into the forward galley, where other passengers rushed forward to help pin the assailant to the floor and secure him.
After removing the attacker from the controls, Hayun returned to the cockpit to assist. He stated that he pulled back on the aircraft’s controls to help stabilize the diving plane. The aircraft began to level out, at which point another pilot on board informed Hayun that they were taking over manual control of the aircraft. With the attacker successfully subdued and bound in the cabin, two reserve pilots who were on board the flight took their positions at the controls and managed to fly the aircraft to a safe emergency landing in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
The identity and background of the rogue co-pilot have become a central focus of the ongoing international investigation. While official government confirmation of his identity is still pending, multiple major global media outlets, including Reuters, CNN, and The New York Times, have identified the attacker as Hamam al-Hammami. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the co-pilot is an Omani national.
Subsequent inquiries into Al-Hammami’s professional history revealed a troubled past in the aviation industry. Reports from US media outlets indicated that while previously employed by Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, Al-Hammami had been abruptly removed from active flight training. The decision to pull him from pilot training reportedly stemmed from deep concerns harbored by airline officials regarding his increasingly radical religious and political views. Rather than being terminated, however, he was reassigned to a ground-based, non-flight role within the Omani airline.
In addition to his employment history, educational institutions have provided details about Al-Hammami’s academic background. Buckinghamshire New University, located in the United Kingdom, confirmed that Al-Hammami had enrolled in and completed a three-year distance-learning program with the institution. He graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree in aviation management. The university was quick to clarify, however, that his coursework was entirely academic and focused on management, emphasizing that he did not undergo any practical pilot training or flight instruction under the auspices of the UK school.
