Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, where he welcomed the Israeli passengers who were on board the Flydubai flight whose copilot attempted to hijack and crash it. Among the passengers whom the Prime Minister met was Yaniv, one of the Israelis who jumped on the would-be hijacker and subdued him.
Yaniv apologized to the Prime Minister that his clothes were still covered in blood, to which Netanyahu replied: "It's an honor to meet you this way. How did you do it?"
The passenger answered: "We are a nation of lions." Netanyahu then embraced him and said: "I see you and I see a lion. You are a great hero."
"What you did is just unbelievable. You saved not only the passengers of the plane, but many others," the Prime Minister added.
After Netanyahu asked, Yaniv recounted the chain of events: "Someone screamed, and the lights went out. Someone wearing a white shirt stood by the door. Together, we pushed the door. The pilot who was stabbed was at the door, but he apparently managed to open it before collapsing. When I went in, I saw the terrorist on the devices between the two chairs."
"I grabbed the terrorist, choked him, and pulled him away from there. He tried to ruin the devices to neutralize the plane, which had its nose pointing down. I called another two guys who helped me grab him. I began to pull the steering wheel up, and I stopped the plane from diving."
Yaniv revealed that he learned to control the plane from the documentary series 'Mayday.' He added that at that point, the alternate pilot came and took charge.