A passenger who helped avert a catastrophe on a FlyDubai flight after the pilot was stabbed mid-air has said he credits a Canadian-made TV show for knowing what to do.
The series is called “Mayday,” and it examines real-life air disasters, including crashes, near-crashes, hijackings and bombings. It’s produced in Toronto and has been on air since 2003.
Executive producer Alex Bystram says it was rewarding to know that the series is associated with a story that has a happy ending for the more than 170 passengers.
Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayoun is being praised as a hero along with others who entered the cockpit and helped subdue the co-pilot who had allegedly stabbed the captain of a flight bound for Tel Aviv from Dubai.
According to reports in Reuters and CNN, Hayoun told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he knew how to take control of the nosediving aircraft because he watched “Air Crash Investigation,” which is the name the docuseries used outside of North America.
Other crew members who were travelling on the plane helped land the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia.
The executive producer of the Canadian TV series “Mayday” Alex Bystram reacts to the show being referenced by a passenger who helped thwart an attack on FlyDubai flight. (Oct. 1, 2026)
Speaking from Toronto, Bystram humbly says he’s under no illusions that the TV show is responsible for saving the aircraft and instead credits the pilot for his quick-thinking to unlock the cockpit door as the fight unfolded.
The series airs in about 175 countries worldwide and is known by several different names.
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