Smit Machchhar: Stabbed pilot’s heroic fight helps save 174
Capt. Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot for FlyDubai, was stabbed in the cockpit by his co-pilot Wednesday, Sept. 30, during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Israeli officials said. Passengers and off-duty pilots then forced their way in, subdued the attacker and diverted the jet to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry identified Smit Machchhar as the wounded captain and called him a “hero” who “fought back after being stabbed in the cockpit,” CBS News reported. The ministry said he unlocked the cockpit door so passengers and crew could intervene, and that “their extraordinary courage saved 174 lives.”
What happened aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073
Flight FZ1073 left Dubai at 6:05 a.m. local time. About two hours later, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 began losing altitude fast and turned sharply north, dropping 17,400 feet in just under two minutes, according to flight-tracking data cited by CNN. The crew sent a distress call and then squawked 7500, the international code for a hijacking.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot stabbed the other and tried to “sabotage the aircraft’s system.” He told CNN that Machchhar “managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster.”
Passenger Yaniv Hayoun told Netanyahu he put the attacker in a chokehold and helped drag him out of the cockpit, CNN reported. Dr. Shota Musaev, a dentist on board, told CNN he tied the man up with headphone cords and zip ties before treating the wounded captain.
Reserve pilots who were riding in the cabin then took the controls, according to Netanyahu and FlyDubai. The airline said on-duty crew members “successfully secured” the aircraft and landed it at Tabuk at 9:54 a.m.
Smit Machchhar’s injuries and condition
Musaev told CNN that Smit Machchhar suffered “massive blood loss” and was “severely wounded,” with deep cuts to his head and hands. Saudi Arabia’s leading aviation operator said both the captain and co-pilot were taken to a hospital.
A local politician in Ghatkopar East, the Mumbai neighborhood Smit Machchhar is from, told CNN the pilot’s family said he was in stable condition after surgery at a hospital in Saudi Arabia.
What passengers described
“We just felt the plane drop completely and start spinning a little, and everyone was screaming, there were children crying,” passenger Mika Bauman told CNN. “I was just sure I was going to die.”
Passenger Asaf Rajuan, whom CBS News reported was credited with helping fight off the attacker, recorded a plea for help from the plane after the co-pilot was subdued. “All the passengers are OK, but not the pilot,” he said in the video.
Netanyahu said the passengers were “almost all” Israeli. They flew on to Israel on a replacement FlyDubai plane and were met at Ben Gurion Airport by medical teams in a “dedicated reception area,” an Israel Airports Authority spokesperson told CNN.
The investigation
The co-pilot accused of attacking Smit Machchhar has not been publicly named. Netanyahu said he was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities. An Omani official told CBS News the attacker was born in Oman and holds Omani citizenship, though the Omani government has not publicly confirmed his nationality.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called the incident “an attempted jihadist terror attack,” while FlyDubai said the motives “are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation.” Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Netanyahu said the co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination,” according to CBS News. Israeli agencies including Shin Bet and Mossad are investigating, and Saudi Arabia is conducting its own inquiry, CNN reported.
Background and what’s next
FlyDubai is the lower-cost sister carrier of Emirates, and Israel and the United Arab Emirates normalized ties in 2020. Israel has not had a plane hijacking in decades and maintains some of the world’s strictest airport security, CBS News noted.
FlyDubai temporarily suspended flights to and from Israel while the investigation continues, an airline spokesperson told CNN. For more air travel news, visit our travel section or read about United Airlines’ new base fares.