A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv sent emergency codes and made an unscheduled landing in Tabuk after a violent cockpit altercation, officials and passengers said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said evidence indicates one pilot stabbed his colleague and then apparently tried to crash the aircraft. Netanyahu credited passengers and crew with preventing a major disaster.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating as flight FZ1073, lost significant altitude during the incident. Flight tracking data reported a drop from about 34,000 feet to roughly 16,600 feet in about a minute, and the transponder recorded a 7700 general emergency code followed by a 7500 unlawful interference code.
Passengers who filmed and later described the scene said Israeli travellers and cabin crew entered the cockpit after the injured pilot opened the door. Video released by passengers and accounts to Ynet and Calcalist show people providing medical aid and securing the cockpit until on duty crew travelling on the flight landed the jet.
Israeli passengers Zvika Manes and Yitzhak Lieber told Israeli outlets they and others rushed the cockpit after hearing screams and neutralised the attacker. Manes said a relief pilot alerted nearby passengers. Several accounts identified the assailant as an Omani national and the stabbed captain as an Indian national.
Flydubai said an altercation occurred in the flight deck and that on duty crew travelling on the flight secured the aircraft and diverted it to Tabuk. The airline said the reasons and motives remain unknown and are subject to formal investigation.
Reactions And Investigation
Israeli and regional authorities moved quickly. Netanyahu met passengers after they arrived and praised those who intervened. Israel’s defence minister called the event an attempted jihadist terrorist attack, describing how passengers and crew averted catastrophe.
Reports identified the injured captain as Smit Machchhar, an Indian national who joined Flydubai in 2022 and previously flew with SpiceJet, according to LinkedIn and i24NEWS. Machchhar underwent surgery in Saudi Arabia and was reported in stable condition by some outlets.
Saudi security forces surrounded the aircraft after it landed and detained the suspect for interrogation, Israeli officials said. Flydubai dispatched replacement aircraft and later operated a rescue flight to Ben Gurion Airport to return passengers.
The airline urged restraint from speculation while authorities investigate. Investigators will examine how a weapon reached the cockpit, the sequence that led to the rapid altitude loss, and the roles played by crew and passengers in regaining control.
