How Passengers Rescued Their Own Plane

A pilot stabbed his colleague mid-flight, then tried to take down a plane carrying 170 Israelis. The only reason this wasn't a catastrophe was the bravery of those on board. That was the dominant story on Thursday's episode of Start Here, which also covered new documents in the Cornell sexual assault case and major changes to the SNAP food assistance program taking effect that morning.

The Attack from Inside the Cockpit

About two hours into a Fly Dubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, passengers felt the plane suddenly take a massive nose dive. "Suddenly the aircraft airplane started like a roller coaster deep deep down like twenty or thirty seconds," one passenger recalled. Then another dip. Then screaming and banging from inside the cockpit.

The cockpit door opened, and an Israeli passenger named Yaniv Hayun, sitting in the front row, saw what was happening: the first officer had stabbed the captain. Hayun pulled the attacker out, put him in a headlock, and dragged him away. Other passengers rushed in to help subdue the man. Meanwhile, a doctor on board provided life-saving treatment to the captain, who had been stabbed in the back, head, and arms. Despite his severe injuries, the captain had managed to open the cockpit door enough for someone to notice.