Indian-origin captain injured in flydubai cockpit attack

Dubai: Captain Smit Machchhar, who was injured while confronting his co-pilot during a violent incident aboard a flydubai flight, is of Indian origin and had previously worked with SpiceJet.

The co-pilot, an Omani national, allegedly attacked Machchhar and attempted to take control of flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The aircraft, carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children, was diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia and landed safely.

According to Israeli officials, the co-pilot may have attempted to crash the aircraft after assaulting the captain. Machchhar fought back, while passengers and crew members reportedly entered the cockpit and helped restrain the co-pilot.

Both pilots were injured and taken to hospital after the aircraft landed. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh said Machchhar was in stable condition and was receiving treatment in Tabuk. Machchhar is reported to have worked with SpiceJet for more than a decade before joining flydubai in 2022.

flydubai said an altercation had taken place in the cockpit while the aircraft was en route to Tel Aviv. The airline said the aircraft was secured by flydubai crew members who were travelling on the flight before it was diverted to Tabuk.

“All passengers and crew are safe and accounted for,” a flydubai spokesperson said, adding that the airline had sent replacement aircraft to Saudi Arabia to transport the passengers to their destination.

The airline said the cause and motives behind the incident remained unclear and were being investigated. It urged people not to draw premature conclusions while authorities continued to establish the facts.

Saudi airport authorities later said all passengers had left Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport aboard a replacement aircraft. Cluster2 Airports, which manages the facility, said the flight departed at 5.40 p.m.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had been informed that the aircraft went into a spin and began losing altitude before passengers and a crew member entered the cockpit and overpowered the attacker.

“I salute these heroes who demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness and courage. They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster,” Netanyahu said.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an attempted “jihadist terrorist attack”, claiming that the co-pilot had intended to bring down the aircraft. However, the allegations have not been independently confirmed, and flydubai has so far only referred to an altercation in the flight deck.

Flight-tracking data analysed by BBC Verify showed that the aircraft had been cruising at around 34,000 feet before descending approximately 17,000 feet. It then climbed about 5,000 feet and descended another 7,000 feet within five minutes before settling at around 15,000 feet.

Passengers described scenes of panic and confusion inside the aircraft. One passenger said he was covered in blood after helping restrain the alleged attacker, while another reported hearing screams throughout the cabin before several passengers entered the cockpit.

Israeli authorities initially suspected a possible hijacking and scrambled fighter jets. The incident remains under investigation, and its precise cause has not yet been established.