This is the heartwarming moment a passenger aboard a 'hijacked' flydubai flight punched the air in celebration after he and his fellow passengers managed to overpower the knifeman and regain control of the aircraft.
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he → hijack → aircraft
Asaf Rajuan was among the heroic Israeli passengers who helped subdue a pilot who stabbed his co-pilot during the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
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who → help → Wednesday
Amid the chaos, the aircraft began plummeting towards the ground, losing nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.
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aircraft → begin → seconds
But Rajuan, two off-duty pilots and other passengers sprang into action, helping to stabilise the jet before disaster could strike.
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disaster → spring → jet
Video footage has now emerged showing Rajuan punching the air and announcing to the cabin: 'Yay, we won!', prompting cheers from the relieved passengers.
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we → show → passengers
Rajuan had earlier filmed himself pleading for help as blood dripped down his face, emerging from a gash on his forehead.
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blood → film → forehead
In a harrowing clip filmed during the height of the commotion, Rajuan says: 'We're here during the hijacking of an airplane.
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We → film → airplane
At this point we've subdued the terrorists, we're approaching landing.
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we → subdue → landing
Whoever is hearing me, we need help.'
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we → hear → help
Video footage has now emerged showing Rajuan punching the air in celebration
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Rajuan → emerge → celebration
Speaking to reporters, Rajuan said of his actions: 'This is something you do without thinking, just running to save your daughter's life, your family's life'
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you → speak → life
'We're landing in Tabuk, apparently in Saudi Arabia.
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We → land → Arabia
We need help,' he added.
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he → need → help
Thankfully, the aircraft landed in Tabuk after two off duty pilots managed to divert the plane to safety.
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pilots → land → safety
Rajuan and the other passengers later arrived back in Israel, receiving a hero's welcome at Ben Gurion airport.
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Rajuan → arrive → airport
Speaking to reporters, Rajuan said of his actions: 'This is something you do without thinking, just running to save your daughter's life, your family's life.'
He later told Israel's president, Isaac Herzog: 'It was an extraordinary incident.'
'We felt helpless, suspended in midair, and I didn't know who to turn to.
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I → speak → who
But it was all instinct: to survive, to save the family, the people, and the children.'
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it → survive → family
Herzog said Thursday he would present 'heroism' awards to five of the Israelis who helped overpower the knifeman and stop him from crashing the plane.
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who → say → plane
'You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster.
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You → put → disaster
Today, the whole world saw the beautiful and courageous face of Israeli society,' Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, said in a statement.
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who → see → statement
'I am proud of you, and I thank you on behalf of the State of Israel.
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I → thank → Israel
He also hailed the plane's Indian pilot, Smit Machchha, who Israeli officials say managed to open the cockpit door to let passengers and crew save the plane after being stabbed by the co-pilot.
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passengers → hail → pilot
Herzog's office initially announced four award winners but later announced a fifth, Tali Manes, whose husband Zvika Manes was among the originally named recipients.
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husband → announce → recipients
Manes, his office said, heard the commotion in the cockpit and was the first to alert passengers and call for help.
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office → say → help
Her husband was one of the first to rush into the cockpit and subdue the pilot who had carried out the assault.
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who → rush → assault
Among the other Israelis to receive the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism are Rajuan and Yaniv Hayoun, a truck driver who says he beat and pinned down the co-pilot after breaking into the cockpit.
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he → receive → cockpit
He also heroically took control of the plane as it plunged to the ground.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Hayoun said he knew what to do from watching plane documentaries.
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he → take → documentaries
'I leaned over the seat, reached forward with my hands and pulled the controls toward me because the aircraft was pointing downward.
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aircraft → lean → me
I pulled the controls back toward me.
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I → pull → me
The images are frightening and they make my wife afraid of flying, so I watch it secretly when she isn't watching with me.
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she → make → me
I saw on it that when an aircraft is going downward, you have to bring the controls back — pull them backward — to bring the nose level.
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you → see → nose
It wasn't as though I flew the plane.
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I → fly → plane
Hayoun, wearing a still-bloody shirt, was personally welcomed on his return to Israel Wednesday at Ben Gurion Airport by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Hayoun → wear → Netanyahu
The fifth person to receive an award is Dr. Shota Musaev, who, according to the official statement from the president, 'provided lifesaving medical treatment to the seriously wounded flight captain.'
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who → receive → captain
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Yaniv, who broke into the cockpit, at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv
Tali Manes was the first to alert passengers to the incident and her husband, Zvika Manes, helped overpower the knifeman
Dr. Shota Musaev provided lifesaving medical treatment to the seriously wounded flight captain
Meanwhile, In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Netanyahu said Israel would be 'following and possibly also participating' in an investigation by Saudi officials into yesterday's events.
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Israel → meet → events
Asked if there was any indication of Iranian involvement, Netanyahu said it was too early to say.
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it → ask → involvement
'We'll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it.
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Iran → get → it
I think we'll find out very soon,' Netanyahu said.
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Netanyahu → think → ?
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israel's preliminary information indicated that the co-pilot aimed to crash the plane, describing him as a terrorist, though Netanyahu only described it as 'a serious security incident'.
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Netanyahu → say → incident
Netanyahu has hailed Indian pilot Smit Machchhar for saving passengers after he was stabbed by his colleague.
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he → hail → colleague
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
