Flydubai Co-Pilot Stabbed the Pilot and Tried to Crash the Plane; Passengers Overpowered Him
Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv plunged nearly 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds after the co-pilot stabbed Capt. Smit Machchhar mid-flight on Wednesday. Everyone on board survived; Israel is treating it as a possible terror attack.
A co-pilot tried to crash a passenger flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, stabbing the pilot in the cockpit and sending the jet plunging nearly 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds. Passengers and crew rushed the cockpit and overpowered him. Everyone on board survived.
The flight was flydubai FZ1073, a Boeing 737. The fight broke out in the cockpit as the plane flew over Jordanian airspace on Wednesday morning. Data from flight-tracking site Flightradar24 showed the aircraft diving sharply before the first emergency signal was sent, according to Reuters.
The stabbed pilot was Capt. Smit Machchhar, an Indian national. He had flown for India’s SpiceJet airline for more than 11 years before joining flydubai. Bleeding from his wounds, Machchhar managed to unlock the secured cockpit door. That let passengers and crew get inside and restrain the co-pilot.
A second pair of flydubai pilots happened to be aboard the flight. They took the controls and landed the jet in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, about 20 minutes after the first emergency signal. More than 10 hours later, the passengers arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport aboard a flydubai replacement aircraft.
Machchhar was taken to a hospital in Tabuk. The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia said he was in stable condition after surgery.
Israel’s assessment shifted through the day
The co-pilot is now in Saudi custody. One Israeli official identified the attacker as an Omani national, Reuters reported. His motive is under investigation.
Early on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister’s office told Reuters the incident was not believed to have been a hijacking, calling it “a different incident.” As more details came in, the assessment changed. Three Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters, said Israel’s current read is that the incident was an attempted “terror attack” and not related to any mental health issue with either pilot.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Machchhar a “true hero” of “extraordinary bravery,” and said he saved the lives of 174 people aboard. In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, Netanyahu said Israel would find out whether the attacker had help. “We’ll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it,” he said.
Fallout for aviation security
Israel has tightened checks on pilots flying into the country. Flydubai said the underlying reasons for the event remained unknown and warned against “premature speculation.” The airline suspended its flights to and from Israel while the investigation continues.
