Maxim

DEBUNKING THE ‘FLYDUBAI’ CONSPIRITARDS 🤡 1 of 3 1. "How did he get a weapon onboard?" The Fact: He didn't sneak a knife past security. The official UAE investigation report confirmed the co-pilot used the cockpit’s own crash axe. By international law, a crash axe is a mandatory piece of emergency equipment standard-stored inside the cockpit. He simply reached over and grabbed the plane's own tool to launch the attack. 2. "Why did a plumber take control and not the 2 pilots?" The Fact: This is completely scrambling the timeline. When the bleeding captain unlocked the door, passengers rushed in to wrestle the attacker. Passenger Yaniv Hayoun (the plumber) saw the plane diving, lunged forward, and pulled back on the yoke to level the aircraft based on what he'd seen on Air Crash Investigation. The two deadheading reserve pilots in the cabin then immediately entered the flight deck, assumed formal control of the instruments, and safely navigated the aircraft to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. 3. "How did the Capt open the door while being stabbed?" The Fact: He didn't casually stand up and twist a mechanical doorknob. Captain Smit Machchhar explicitly stated in his interview that he was on the floor bleeding when he realised the plane was plunging. Knowing lives were at stake, he gathered his strength for one final push to hit the electronic door override release switch right next to the seat console, unlocking it so the cabin crew and passengers could rush in. 4. "Where are the oxygen masks?" The Fact: This is an embarrassing failure of basic systems knowledge. Emergency oxygen masks are triggered strictly by cabin barometric pressure, not by pitch, dives, or sudden altitude drops. Because the fuselage was perfectly intact, the cabin never lost air density or pressure. The aircraft computer had absolutely zero mechanical reason to deploy the masks. 5. "Why was he speaking English to Bibi / in bloody clothes?" The Fact: The plumber, Yaniv Hayoun, is an Israeli citizen. When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him to thank him for saving the flight, they spoke in Hebrew, not English. As for the blood-soaked shirt, he spent hours being interviewed by Saudi security and medical teams at Tabuk Airport immediately after landing. He was a passenger in transit who had just wrestled a bleeding attacker in a cockpit—he didn’t have a fresh change of clothes packed in his carry-on bag. 6. “Why were all the screens off?” The Fact: Flydubai is a low-cost carrier. A massive portion of their economy cabins don't even feature seatback entertainment screens, or they are entirely deactivated behind a corporate paywall unless a passenger pays to unlock them. Even on aircraft with screens, when a commercial plane undergoes a violent, uncommanded 14,000-foot altitude plunge, the aircraft's automated electrical computers instantly initiate load-shedding. The plane immediately cuts power to all non-essential luxury systems (like passenger TVs, galley ovens, and seat outlets) to ensure 100% of the electrical grid is dedicated strictly to the cockpit displays, flight instruments, and backup hydraulic pumps keeping the plane from breaking apart. OTHER DEBUNKED FALLACIES * The 'Unbreakable' Door: Nobody broke it down. The official investigation logs prove that the hero captain, Smit Machchhar, manually hit the electronic cockpit override switch to unlock the door from the inside so passengers could rush in and save his life. * The 'Spare Pilots' Fail: Off-duty flight crew traveling as passengers is a daily industry routine called 'deadheading.' Repositioning reserve crews to major hubs like Tel Aviv happens every single day. They didn't stage a fight; they stepped in to land the plane after regular passengers restrained the attacker.