“Mayday” executive producer Alex Bystram was discussing a future episode with co-workers when he learned that one of his show’s viewers was a girl. traveller on scary FlyDubai Flight 1073, and used what he saw in the series to help stabilize the aircraft.
“If by chance someone got a tip about something they saw in the cockpit and it worked and had the right impact, then that’s a great byproduct,” Bystram told CBS News on Thursday.
Passenger Yaniv Hayun said: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuThe one who met him at the airport said he knew what to do because of the demonstration.
Israeli officials said that the co-pilot stabbed the captain about two hours before the FlyDubai plane’s flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
Hayun said he “ran towards the cockpit” amid the chaos at the front of the plane, then the plane “went into a very sharp nose-down dive.” BBC News, CBS News’ partner network, said flight tracking data showed the plane dropped more than 17,000 feet in two minutes.
Israeli officials and passengers said the captain, an Indian citizen, was able to fight the co-pilot and unlock the cockpit door. Eyewitnesses said a group of passengers and crew then stormed the cockpit and disabled the co-pilot.
After helping restrict alleged attackerHayun told Netanyahu, “I am monitoring the Air Crash Investigation, Mr. Prime Minister,” and said that the plane “started to withdraw its controls.” (“Mayday” is also known as “Air Crash Investigation”.)
After doing so, Hayun said, “the plane started to level out a little bit” and then another pilot on the plane took control. Two pilots who were not on duty during the flight managed to take control of the plane and make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu hailed Hayun as a hero, telling him, “It’s an honor. You’re an honor. You’re a hero.”
No passengers were seriously injured in the incident. The pilot was injured with a knife in the attack. Two crew members were hospitalized with unspecified injuries and the co-pilot remained in custody Thursday, Saudi officials said. The co-pilot’s motive for the alleged attack is unknown.
“At the heart of this show are lessons about aviation safety, so if we can even slightly improve passenger safety on this flight, that would be great,” Bystram said.
The Canadian series, which examines some of the world’s worst weather disasters based on actual reports, has been running for more than two decades and has produced over 200 episodes.
According to Bystram, the show’s simulations are realistic, but he didn’t expect someone to use what they saw in the episode in a real-life scenario.
“We have real commercial pilots flying the type of aircraft that tells players what to do, tells players how to manipulate the controls, tells players what to keep their hands on and what to keep away,” he said. “So I’m not surprised that he got some accurate information from watching the show.”
When asked if Bystram was planning to make an episode based on the FlyDubai incident, he said, “If there are valuable lessons to be learned about aviation safety from this episode, then we will definitely do that.”
“But we’re not going to do it just because it’s salacious or dramatic,” he said. “It needs to teach a good, solid lesson or have a good, solid impact on aviation safety.”