Tzvika Manes, CEO of Barak Capital Underwriting, the underwriting arm of Bank Leumi (one of Israel's largest banks), found himself at the center of a mid-air crisis when he joined passengers in breaching a Flydubai cockpit to subdue a knife-wielding co-pilot. "I am covered in blood. It was crazy," Manes recalled in an interview with Calcalist, which first exposed his role in the harrowing event.
The Dubai to Tel Aviv flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia following the brutal assault on the captain. Visibly shaken by the ordeal, Manes told Calcalist, "This is an insanely traumatic event."The chaos unfolded when his wife, who was waiting near the cockpit while their daughter used the restroom, heard sudden screams from behind the flight deck door. She immediately alerted an off-duty replacement pilot seated nearby, urging him to investigate. The backup pilot called for assistance, prompting Manes and two other passengers to storm the cockpit and neutralize the attacker.
Manes noted the international nature of the crisis – the off-duty pilot who initiated the rescue is from Fiji, the severely wounded captain hails from India, and the attacker is an Omani national. He also praised a quick-thinking doctor on board who managed to bandage and stabilize the injured captain, enabling the aircraft to safely continue its descent.
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Further accounts from those on board highlight the agonizing minutes of uncertainty, as passengers and their families waited in dread without knowing how the terrifying ordeal would conclude.
