In a social media post, Mr. Herzog said he offered “warm thanks” to the pilot and the reserve pilots for what he said was their courage and resourcefulness. “The State of Israel extends immense graтιтude to you,” he added, addressing Mr. Machchhar.
Mr. Manes forced open the cockpit door along with Mr. Hayoun, a plumber, and Mr. Rajuan, after the captain had managed to unlatch it. The pᴀssengers then tackled the ᴀssailant.
Mr. Hayoun told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a televised conversation on Wednesday that while the other pᴀssengers were working to overpower the attacker, he “grabbed the controls and started pulling back the handles,” trying to mimic maneuvers he had seen on television. Mr. Manes said in interviews with Israeli outlets that it took roughly 20 to 25 minutes for the pᴀssengers to fully subdue and bind the co-pilot, using corded headphones from the plane’s entertainment system.
Dr. Musayev, a dentist, treated the pilot for what he described as severe wounds to his head and cuts to his fingers, providing what the president’s office described as “lifesaving medical treatment.”
“It was an extraordinary incident. We felt helpless, suspended in midair, and I didn’t know who to turn to,” Mr. Rajuan told the president, according the statement from Mr. Herzog’s office. “But it was all instinct: to survive, to save the family, the people, and the children.”