Herzog recommends four men from flydubai flight FZ1073 for Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism

1 October 2026, 9:22 am

3 Edit

Asaf Rajuan, one of the Israeli passengers who intervened in a terror attack on the pilot by his first officer on a flydubai flight, hugs another passenger from the same flight, as they arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, September 30, 2026. (AP Photo/ Ariel Schalit)

President Isaac Herzog says he will recommend that four Israelis aboard yesterday’s flydubai flight FZ1073 receive the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism.

The four men he is recommending for the award include Yaniv Hayun, Tzvika Manes, and Asaf Rajuan, who entered the cockpit and subdued the co-pilot after he stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar. He is also recommending Dr. Shota Musayev for the award for the lifesaving medical treatment he administered to the seriously injured Machchhar.

Hayun, Manes, and Rajuan “rushed to assist, entered the cockpit, and overpowered the attacker, placing their own lives in real danger, while Hayun steadied the aircraft’s controls,” Herzog recounts. “Once the attacker had been subdued, Dr. Musayev provided lifesaving medical treatment to the seriously wounded pilot, helping to stabilize his condition until the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.”

“The swift action of the passengers and crew averted a major disaster,” he says.

He says he spoke to the four men and “expressed his deep appreciation for the resourcefulness, courage, and mutual responsibility they displayed in moments of extreme danger.”

The president also commends Manes’s wife, Tali, who was the first to raise the alarm about a disturbance in the cockpit, and thanks Machchhar, “whose determination and actions made it possible to subdue the attacker and saved many lives.”

The Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism is relatively new, established by Herzog in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack. It is Israel’s highest civilian award for heroism.