Indian airline captain hailed as a hero after cockpit stabbing on FlyDubai flight bound for Israel
Investigators are examining the alleged motive as passengers and crew overpowered the attacker after the captain, injured in the cockpit, opened the door.
- On Wednesday, September 30, 2026, Flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar thwarted a cockpit attack on flight FZ1073 en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, saving 174 passengers before an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
- The Omani co-pilot allegedly attacked Machchhar with a knife mid-flight, causing the Boeing 737 to plunge roughly 17,000 feet as crew and passengers struggled to regain control during the emergency.
- Despite severe stab wounds, the 13-year aviation veteran managed to hit the cockpit door release, allowing passengers to subdue the attacker. Machchhar, formerly of SpiceJet, logged nearly 9,750 flying hours throughout his career.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Machchhar as a 'true hero' for his actions. Flydubai suspended Israel flights pending investigation while Machchhar recovers from surgery in stable condition.
- Saudi authorities are interrogating the suspect to determine if the attack involved 'terrorist activity or prior planning,' while investigators examine the co-pilot's background amid calls for tightened security protocols across international carriers.
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Injured on flight 1073 between Dubai and Tel Aviv, the Indian captain was hospitalized in Saudi Arabia. His cold-bloodedness during the attack in the cockpit now earned him praise.
Flydubai pilot was stabbed in head, had arm ‘split in two’ before flight saved by ‘superheroes,’ Netanyahu says
The Flydubai pilot attacked in the attempted hijacking of his Israel-bound plane was stabbed in the head and had his arm “split in two,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
As the United Arab Emirates announces on Thursday, 1 October, the opening of an investigation to determine whether the alleged attack on the aircraft to Tel Aviv on the previous day was of a terrorist nature, the question now arises of pilot control.
Smit Machchhar was attacked by another pilot aboard the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv. He now recovers in a hospital in Saudi Arabia.
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