Vos Iz Neias9 hours agoJERUSALEM (VINnews) — Assaf Raguon, one of the Israelis who helped overpower the attacker during the attempted takeover of a Flydubai flight, has shared an emotional reflection on the incident, saying he came to realize afterward that every passenger played a role in preventing a potential catastrophe.
“I usually don’t write much on social media, but today I felt something inside me burning that I had to share with other people,” Raguon wrote on Sunday.
Since the incident, Raguon said, he and the other passengers who intervened have repeatedly been asked what they believe prevented the disaster. The answer, he said, became clearer when a group of passengers were interviewed together by an international television channel. “We understood that every passenger on the flight had a role,” Raguon wrote.
According to his account, one passenger maintained communication with Israeli security authorities, while another provided a mobile phone hotspot and shared it with other passengers. Another passenger sat and recited Tehillim. One passenger collected headphone wires that could be used to restrain the attacker, while others used GPS maps to determine where the aircraft would land. An Australian passenger also played an important role because she was reportedly the only person aboard who was able to make calls to Israel while the plane was in Saudi Arabia.
“And of course there were the amazing Yaniv, the wonderful Tzvika and Tali, the powerhouse Shota, Or the man, and many other good friends who lent a hand,” Raguon wrote.
Raguon was referring to fellow Israelis Yaniv Hayun, Dr. Shota Musayev, Tzvika Manes and others who helped subdue the attacker and prevent him from taking control of the aircraft, as well as treating the injured pilot.
The incident has been described as a potential mass-casualty disaster that was averted by the actions of the captain and passengers. The four Israelis have received widespread praise for their courage and quick response. For Raguon, however, the experience took on an additional personal significance after the flight.
He said he felt that, following what he described as a “great miracle,” he had to attend synagogue on Saturday morning to recite Birkat HaGomel, the traditional blessing of thanksgiving recited after surviving a life-threatening event. “I am not a religious person. I believe in G-d in my own way, and I usually don’t look for signs in everything,” Raguon wrote. “But today something happened that managed to amaze me.”
At the synagogue, he happened to hear a verse from Devarim, part of the weekly Torah reading: “There is none like the G-d of Jeshurun, who rides across the heavens to help you, and in His majesty, the skies.”
“I read the verse, stopped, and shuddered, along with all the other worshippers who knew the story and understood why I was there with them,” he wrote. “After everything that happened on the flight, after the fear, after the attack, and after realizing how thin the line between life and death had been, finding myself facing those words, ‘who rides across the heavens to help you’, was a moment that is difficult for me to explain.”
Raguon said he could not know whether the coincidence represented divine providence or simply a coincidence that acquired profound personal meaning.
“But today, in the synagogue, while reciting Birkat HaGomel, I felt mainly one thing: gratitude,” he wrote. “Thank you for life. Thank you for the miracle. And thank you for the privilege of standing here and telling its story.”
He concluded his post with the words: “Am Yisrael Chai.”
Yeshiva World News3 hours agoDramatic new details have emerged from the investigation into the attempted hijacking of the Israel-bound FlyDubai flight, with the co-pilot reportedly admitting that his plan was to crash the aircraft into a terminal at Ben Gurion Airport.
According to reports, the Omani co-pilot told investigators that the attack had been planned even before he began working for FlyDubai. He allegedly sought employment specifically with an airline that operated flights to Tel Aviv, with the intention of eventually carrying out the attack.
The co-pilot reportedly planned to wait until the aircraft was approaching Israel before taking control of the plane. He allegedly intended to continue toward Ben Gurion Airport as though making a normal landing, before crashing the aircraft into the terminal at the last moment.
During the flight, while the aircraft was over Jordan and approaching Israeli airspace, the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the cockpit. Israeli passengers ultimately managed to breach the cockpit and overpower him, preventing what could have been a catastrophic attack.
The latest reported admission adds a new dimension to the ongoing investigation into whether the co-pilot acted alone or was connected to a wider terrorist plot.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
