Heroic action on Flydubai flight is a cause for celebration

News admin October 5, 2026 0 Comments

Heroic action on Flydubai flight is a cause for celebration | Letter

To the editor:

I have been overwhelmed by emotion as I follow the story of Flydubai Flight FZ1073.

The magnitude of the miracle is captured by a passenger – a mother returning home with her family – who upon disembarking was quoted as saying, “As the plane was plummeting I didn’t even pray to survive. I just prayed that it should be over quickly and I shouldn’t have to see my children suffer. But thank God we were saved!”

If you would have watched the scene in a movie, you would have found it equal parts entertaining and unrealistic. A co-pilot surprises a pilot with a midair knife attack, throwing a plane with 174 souls onboard into a rapid and steep descent. But the pilot fights back courageously and manages to open the cockpit door. A passenger races in, pulls the copilot away from the controls and helps stabilize the plane, all based on knowledge he gleaned from a TV show about air disasters. Two additional pilots, who happened to be on board, take over and land the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.

This past weekend Jews around the world celebrated the holiday of Simchat Torah, where we rejoiced with the beautiful scrolls inscribed with the Five Books of Moses.

We mark this holiday by holding our Torahs and dancing in a circle. The Kabbalah explains the power of a circle. A line has a front and a back, but in a circle everyone is equal.

This idea is beautifully expressed by Yaniv Hayoun, the humble and heroic plumber who played a key role in averting disaster on Flight FZ1073 on Sept. 30. While we might think of a plumber as an ordinary character, Yaniv revealed how every soul is truly extraordinary.

As well, in life, two people can be super close yet worlds apart. When you stand beside someone, you can turn your face to them or turn your back on them. When we dance in a circle, everyone faces everyone.

In recent years, at times it has felt as though the world is turning its back on Israel, as it wages an existential battle for its survival. But on that Flydubai flight, an Indian pilot joined forces with an Israeli plumber, aided by two pilots of unknown nationality. The world came together to realize a victory of good over evil. Everyone was flying United.

Many commentaries ask why we celebrate the great wisdom of the Torah with an act as simple as dancing. It is explained that while our feet may appear lowly, they are the vehicle that transports our body. When you raise your feet you simultaneously raise your heart and your mind.

Thank you, Yaniv, for being so quick on your feet and performing such a wondrous feat. Your actions will inspire us all as we rise heels over head this Simchas Torah, joyfully expressing our renewed appreciation for the world of good that can be achieved when humanity joins hands and dances with the Jewish nation.

Rabbi Mosche Scheiner, Palm Beach

Scheiner leads Palm Beach Synagogue in Palm Beach.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Heroic action on Flydubai flight is a cause for celebration | Letter

Reporting by Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News

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Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published October 5, 2026 at 6:31 AM.