Pilot Stabs the Other and Tries to Crash Plane
What We Know About the Near-Disaster
A passenger jet carrying more than 150 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv narrowly avoided catastrophe after one of its pilots stabbed the other and in the words of Israel's prime minister, "apparently tried to crash the plane." Western media outlets are piecing together how the disaster was averted.
The Flydubai flight was diverted to Saudi Arabia after the crew issued an "unlawful interference" alert, an extremely rare squawk code normally reserved for hijackings. It soon emerged that the emergency wasn't outside the cockpit, but inside it.
What Happened Aboard
According to the flight-tracking service Flightradar24, the aircraft plunged roughly 5,000 meters in just two minutes before stabilizing. Witnesses described chaos in the cabin: passengers heard screams and felt the pressure building as the plane descended, before several of them broke into the cockpit and helped overpower the attacker.
Passenger Yaniv Hayun, later credited with helping subdue the pilot, recounted the struggle at a meeting with Netanyahu after the safe landing. "I caught the attacker, squeezed him by the throat and dragged him out first," he said. "He was trying to destroy the gear to take the plane out of service." Hayun said he grabbed the control levers and pulled them "as I had seen on television," after which other crew members took over.
Flydubai said its crew "successfully mastered" the aircraft after the confrontation and diverted it, landing safely in the northwestern Saudi city of Tabuk. The injured pilot identified in reports as Captain Smith Machhar, an Indian national was hospitalized in Saudi Arabia in stable condition, according to the Indian embassy. He was hailed for opening the cockpit door, which allowed passengers to rush in and end the fight.
(Note: initial reports, citing an Israeli official, described the attacker as an Omani citizen; later identification named him differently. Reports on the attacker's identity and nationality remain inconsistent.)
Reactions From World Leaders
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Machhar "a real hero" on social media and praised the rescue as "an incredible act of heroism on his part, on the part of the Indian pilot, and on the part of the people who helped them. They prevented a catastrophe that could have been global," he told Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tribute to the pilot. "Faced with a terrible threat and although he was badly injured, he did not hesitate and showed incredible courage and determination to save the lives of others," Modi wrote online, adding that his courage "helped preserve hundreds of lives and avoid a great tragedy."
President Donald Trump said he had spoken with Netanyahu and that the attacker appeared to have been either "a terrorist or perhaps some kind of crazy." An Israeli official had earlier described the incident as a planned attack "in the style of the 9/11 attacks."
Was It Terrorism?
The motive remains unclear. The accused pilot is being questioned in Saudi Arabia, while Israeli authorities investigate whether the incident was an attempted terror attack, The Guardian reports. Netanyahu said it was too early to say who, if anyone, was behind the attempt, but didn't rule out Israeli involvement in the investigation. "I assume he will be transferred to the UAE, which is also his home country," Netanyahu said, referring to the attacker. "We will monitor the course of the investigation and it is possible to get involved in it."
The "unlawful interference" alert triggered alarm at the highest level: Israel scrambled fighter jets to intercept the passenger plane, and Netanyahu convened emergency meetings with his senior security officials. About an hour after the alert, his office stated that "the incident is under control and all means are currently being used to return Israeli travelers safely to Israel."
The scare echoed a darker era for Israeli aviation, the 1960s and 1970s, when flights to and from Israel were frequently hijacked. Such incidents have since declined sharply thanks to tighter airport and onboard security, The Washington Post notes. The event also landed amid heightened regional tension, with the ongoing U.S. war on Iran in the background and days after Netanyahu's own visit to the UAE, one of the Arab states that normalized relations with Israel in 2020.
Flydubai Suspends Israel Flights; UAE Opens Investigation
Flydubai has suspended flights to and from Israel following the attack, Politico reports. "This temporary suspension will allow the competent authorities to continue their work and establish all the facts related to the incident," the airline said in a statement. All passengers arrived safely in Tel Aviv after backup planes were sent to Tabuk.
Meanwhile, the UAE's attorney general has ordered a formal investigation into flight FZ1073. Investigators will establish the circumstances and causes of the incident, including whether it was connected to armed groups, whether there was a premeditated plan, and whether there was external direction.
The UAE's judicial authorities hold jurisdiction, the attorney general's office said, because the aircraft is registered in the country and flies under its flag. Under UAE law, offenses committed aboard such aircraft apply even when the plane is in another country's airspace or territory.
Much remains unknown, but the outcome, all sides agree, could have been catastrophically different.