Co-Pilot Stabs Captain, Tries to Crash Dubai-to-Tel Aviv Jet; Passengers Storm Cockpit as Plane Plunges 14,000 Feet

10.1.26: On September 30, flydubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, left Dubai for Tel Aviv with 174 people on board, including 27 children, most of them Israeli. About two and a half hours into the flight, over northern Saudi Arabia, the Omani first officer allegedly stabbed the captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, and tried to take the aircraft. Israeli officials say he was standing over the controls and appeared to be trying to crash the jet or sabotage its systems. Flydubai's own wording has stayed narrower: an "altercation" on the flight deck, motives unknown.

Flight-tracking data show a sharp drop from cruise near 34,000 feet-reports put the initial plunge at roughly 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds, with some trackers citing a larger total loss over one to two minutes. The aircraft sent squawk 7700 (general emergency), then 7500 (hijacking or unlawful interference), briefly entered Jordanian airspace, and diverted to Tabuk. Israeli fighters were scrambled as a precaution. All passengers survived. Tabuk airport said both pilots were injured and hospitalized. Passengers left later that day on a replacement aircraft and reached Tel Aviv.

Machchhar, wounded and on the floor, unlocked the cockpit door. Passengers near the front-including Israelis later named in Israeli accounts, among them Tzvika Manes and Yaniv Hayoun-forced their way in, found the attacker at the controls, and subdued him; one account describes a struggle of about 20–30 minutes and binding him with headphone cords. A reserve flydubai crew traveling as passengers then flew the jet to Tabuk. Medical help on board, including a dentist, treated the captain. Cabin video later aired in Israel shows the bound co-pilot, blood, and Machchhar describing repeated blows and an injured hand he could no longer close.

Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who was stabbed and unlocked the cockpit door.

Saudi preliminary findings, conducted with a UAE security team, described an assault by the co-pilot on the captain, with injuries to both. The co-pilot-an Omani national employed by flydubai for under a year, in some reports about nine months-was detained in Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu said he expected a quick transfer to the UAE, which is leading the inquiry; by late October 1, reporting indicated a security team had moved him there. His name has not been released. Oman has not commented.

Machchhar was treated in Tabuk, then moved to Abu Dhabi. India's embassy and foreign ministry said on October 1 that he is in good health and recovering well. Ambassador Deepak Mittal visited him and his family; officials said he was speaking, smiling, and laughing.

Motive is still not formally settled. Israel's initial assessment is that he acted alone. On October 1, Netanyahu told Fox News that personal information indicated "Islamist radical indoctrination," that the attacker called out "kill me, kill me," and that he appeared suicidal and intent on bringing the plane down. An Israeli official cited social-media material described as jihadist and anti-Jewish; those claims have not been independently confirmed in public. Netanyahu said it was too early to judge Iranian involvement. Two Israeli security officials told Reuters they had not found an Iranian link. President Trump said that, based on what he was hearing, a link looked likely, but that the U.S. was still working on it and that the co-pilot might be "a terrorist or perhaps a whack job." UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi ordered an investigation into circumstances, motive, any terrorist purpose, and any prior planning or direction. Investigators have also left open non-terror explanations, including mental-health factors. How a weapon reached the cockpit has not been explained; Netanyahu has referred to a knife or possibly an axe.

Operationally, flydubai suspended all flights to and from Israel pending the inquiry. Emirates suspended related codeshares. Israel's transport ministry said the suspension matched a directive from Netanyahu and a recommendation from the transport minister and the head of Shin Bet. Netanyahu has questioned how an Omani pilot-Oman and Israel have no diplomatic relations-was cleared onto an Israel-bound flight. El Al, Israir, and Arkia said they planned rescue flights from Dubai starting October 2, subject to security approval.

The event remains an apparent insider attack on a route opened by UAE–Israel normalization, with the formal findings still outstanding.