Plunged 14,000 feet in 29 secs: How stabbed Indian pilot averted flydubai crash

flydubai FZ1073 · September 30, 2026

Flydubai FZ1073: From Dubai to an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia

A Tel Aviv-bound flight lost half its altitude in about a minute, sent emergency codes and diverted to Tabuk after what Israeli officials describe as an attack in the cockpit.

Investigation ongoing

Mid-air timelineInside the cockpitWhy jets scrambledWhat passengers sawThe numbers

Flydubai FZ1073: What happened mid-air?

The flight, step by step. Times and altitudes are from Flightradar24 data.

​Tap to pause​Paused · tap to play

Dubaitake-offTel AvivdestinationTabuklandedJORDANSAUDI ARABIAUAEIRAQEGYPT 77007500

Altitude

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​

1. ​
2. Take-off
3. Confrontation
4. Plunge
5. 7700 → 7500
6. Jets scrambled
7. Door opens
8. Attacker subdued
9. Diverts
10. Lands

03:05 GMT · Dubai

FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, takes off for Tel Aviv with about 170 people on board.

About 2 hr 15 min into the flight Alleged

A confrontation breaks out in the cockpit. Israeli officials say the co-pilot stabbed the captain.

05:21 GMT · 34,000 ft → ~16,600 ft

Flight-tracking data shows the jet losing about half its altitude in roughly a minute.

05:28 and 05:35 GMT

The transponder shows 7700, a general emergency, then 7500, unlawful interference.

Israel

Fearing a possible hijacking, Israel scrambles fighter jets.

Cockpit Attributed

The injured captain opens the cockpit door so others can get in, Israeli PM Netanyahu said.

Passengers and crew Attributed

A passenger and crew members enter the cockpit and overpower the attacker, according to Netanyahu and passengers.

Towards Saudi Arabia

On-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight secure the plane and divert it to Tabuk, the airline says.

About 07:00 GMT · Tabuk

The aircraft lands safely. Passengers are safe; both pilots are taken to hospital.

Route is approximate. Cockpit events are based on accounts from Israeli officials, flydubai and passengers; their exact timing has not been made public.

​​​India link: the injured captain, Smit Machchhar, is an Indian national, i24NEWS and Israel Hayom report. He is in a stable condition after surgery in Saudi Arabia, according to i24NEWS.

Inside the flydubai cockpit: What we know

The least clear part of the story, in sequence

1. 1

   Cockpit confrontation

   A fight breaks out between the two pilots

2. 2

   One pilot allegedly stabs the other

   Israeli officials say the co-pilot stabbed the captain

3. 3

   Attempt to take control

   Netanyahu says the attacker “apparently tried to crash the plane”

4. 4

   Injured pilot opens the cockpit door

   The wounded captain lets others in, Netanyahu said

5. 5

   A passenger and crew member enter

   A passenger says a relief pilot called for help and others followed

6. 6

   Attacker subdued

   Passengers and crew overpower him

7. 7

   Other crew regain control

   flydubai: on-duty crew travelling on the flight secured the plane

Based on accounts from Israeli officials and passengers; investigation ongoing. flydubai says the reasons and motives “remain unknown and are subject to a formal investigation”.

Why did Israel scramble fighter jets?

What Israeli authorities could see from the ground

1. 
   1 · Emergency signalThe aircraft transmits 7700, then 7500: unlawful interference
2. 
   2 · Rapid altitude loss34,000 ft to about 16,600 ft in roughly a minute
3. 
   3 · Hijacking fearedIsraeli authorities scramble fighter jets

What actually happened?

Israeli officials later said the incident involved an alleged attack by one pilot on the other. Netanyahu said one pilot stabbed the other and “apparently tried to crash the plane”. The investigation is ongoing.

‘We need help’: What passengers saw aboard Flydubai FZ1073

In passengers’ own words. Their accounts have not been independently verified.

A bloodied passenger

“We are in the middle of a plane hijacking. At the moment, we have subdued the terrorists and we are preparing to land… We need help.”

Passenger video, as reported by Ynet

Passengers rush the cockpit

“A few of us just jumped in and pulled him out of the cockpit. Everything is OK now.”

Passenger, as reported by Ynet

An injured pilot

“Everyone on the plane is safe and well except for the pilot.”

Passenger, as reported by Ynet

Crew and passengers restrain the attacker

“He called for help, and two others and I entered the cockpit and subdued the terrorist. I’m covered in blood.”

Zvika Manes, passenger, to Ynet

Passengers stay on board after landing

Passengers remained on the plane after it landed in Tabuk.

Euronews

Saudi security surrounds the aircraft

A heavy Saudi security presence surrounded the plane.

Euronews

The numbers behind the flydubai emergency

Each figure with its source

• ~170people on boardNewsweek; i24 says 174
• 34,000 ftcruising altitude before the dropFlightradar24
• ~16,600 ftlowest point of the dropFlightradar24 data
• ~1 mintime the drop tookFlightradar24 data
• ~2 hr 15 minafter take-off (03:05 → 05:21 GMT)Flightradar24
• 7700general emergency codeFlightradar24
• 7500unlawful interference codeFlightradar24
• Tabukemergency landing, Saudi Arabiaflydubai
• 2 pilotsinjured and hospitalisedAeroTime, i24

Some reports give the drop as 33,000 ft to 17,000 ft. Flightradar24 data shows 34,000 ft to as low as 16,600 ft.

Sources: flydubai, Flightradar24, Reuters, Newsweek, AeroTime, Euronews, Ynet, i24NEWS, Israel Hayom, Unilad Tech (Flightradar24 data). Map: Natural Earth.

Express InfoGenIE

The airline’s own account was brief. Without confirming this version of events, Flydubai said an “altercation” broke out on the flight deck, after which the crew secured the aircraft and diverted to Tabuk.

The flight’s tracking data told a more dramatic story. Flightradar24 logged the plane falling from 30,875 feet to 16,750 feet in just 29 seconds, reported NBC News. As per CNBC, Its transponder data showed vertical speeds swinging from roughly 30,000 feet to 10,000 feet per minute.

The aircraft also broadcast two emergency codes: 7700 for a general emergency and 7500 for unlawful interference, usually associated with hijacking. However, Netanyahu said it was unlikely a hijack attempt. Later, another 7700 code was broadcast.

Inside the cabin, passengers believed the end was near. One told NBC News of “screaming, people running, panicking, blood” as the plane dropped.

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Captain Smit Machchhar. Photo: Reuters

Profile · flydubai FZ1073

Smit Machchhar: From textile engineering to the flydubai cockpit

How an unexpected interest in aviation took a Mumbai engineering student from a planned career in textiles to nearly 9,750 hours in the cockpit

Captain Smit Machchhar

• Indian national
• From Mumbai
• Boeing 737 captain
• Former SpiceJet pilot
• Joined flydubai in 2022
• Career of about 15 years

~9,750flying hours, nearly

The journey

From the classroom to the cockpit

1. 
2. 

   Textile engineering

   Studies to join the family textile business

3. 

   Age 19: discovers aviation

   At a seminar during management studies, Welingkar Institute, Mumbai

4. 

   Pilot training

   New Zealand

5. 

   SpiceJet: 11 years

   Rises to line training captain

6. 

   flydubai: 2022

   Boeing 737 captain

7. 

   ~9,750 flying hours

   Over a career of about 15 years

8. 

   FZ1073: Sept 30, 2026

   Injured in a cockpit altercation

He was originally headed for textiles

He studied textile engineering and expected to join his family’s textile business. At 19, an aviation seminar during his management studies at Mumbai’s Welingkar Institute changed his direction.

1. Textile engineering
2. Aviation seminar
3. Pilot training · New Zealand
4. Commercial pilot

“Unlike a lot of other aviators right now, aviation was not a childhood dream. It came along much later in my life.”

Smit Machchhar, in an earlier interview, as quoted by Reuters

11 years

at SpiceJet

• Rose to line training captain
• Responsible for mentoring younger pilots

~9,750

flying hours, nearly

• Joined flydubai in 2022, flying the Boeing 737
• About four years with the Dubai airline

​

Close to 10,000 hours: more than 400 days in the air

A potential catastrophe was averted

Each dot is one person on board

​​​​

174people on board

Machchhar’s actions were credited by Israeli officials with helping prevent a potential catastrophe.

Illustration: 174 dots, not the actual seating plan

Safe landing in Saudi Arabia

Machchhar was taken to hospital in Tabuk

Indian Embassy, Riyadh

He is admitted to a hospital in Tabuk and receiving treatment, and is stable according to initial reports. The embassy says it is in touch with his family.

PM Narendra Modi

“Captain Smit Machchhar is a HERO… India is proud of Captain Machchhar.” Modi said his actions “helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy”.

From a textile engineering classroom to a Boeing 737 cockpit, Smit Machchhar’s unexpected aviation journey took a dramatic turn aboard FZ1073.

Sources: Reuters; Indian Embassy in Riyadh; PM Narendra Modi on X; flydubai. Investigation ongoing.

Express InfoGenIE

There are multiple reports of a knife being involved, but the details remain unverified. Yasmin Abu Kasis, whose daughter Miriam was aboard the flight, told news agency Reuters that her daughter heard screaming and reported seeing a man with a knife force one of the pilots to the floor.

ALSO READ | Not ‘hijacked’: What happened to Flydubai FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv mid-air

Smit Machchhar – captain who opened the door

Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian, sustained serious injuries while fighting back the co-pilot. Despite being stabbed, he managed to unlock the cockpit door. That let passengers and crew overpower the attacker.

CBS News reported that a passenger is credited with fighting off the attacker, and that two off-duty pilots then took the controls. Machchhar is reportedly in stable condition at a hospital in Tabuk. The Ministry of External Affairs said that Machchhar is receiving medical attention and is safe.

Netanyahu also said Saudi authorities have arrested the co-pilot, who remains unnamed. Passengers later continued to Tel Aviv on a replacement aircraft.

flydubai FZ1073 · September 30, 2026

How the plane plunged

Flight-tracking data shows the Tel Aviv-bound jet dropping from 34,000 ft to about 16,600 ft in roughly a minute.

​Tap to pause​Paused · tap to play

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Time (GMT)

​

Altitude

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10,000 ft20,000 ft30,000 ft05:1905:2105:2205:2805:3305:37One minute, enlargedEverest · 29,032 ftSharp climb, then another descent: exact altitudes not published −17,400 ftin about a minute 7700 · 05:287500 · 05:35

SLOWED DOWN

• ~17,400 ftlost in about a minute: 34,000 ft to ~16,600 ftFlightradar24 data
• ~290 ft/saverage rate of the drop, about 88 metres every secondCalculated from the figures above
• 6.4×the height of the Burj Khalifa (2,717 ft), lost in one minute
  ​​​​​​​
• ~593 knotsspeed around the time of the dropFlightradar24 data, via Unilad Tech

What the data showsCruise at 34,000 ft; the drop starts at 05:21 GMT; a sharp climb and another descent follow; the jet settles around 15,000 ft by 05:33. The 7700 emergency code appears at 05:28 and 7500 at 05:35.

What is not yet knownThe exact altitudes of the climb and second descent have not been published. Israeli officials link the plunge to an alleged attack in the cockpit; flydubai says the investigation is ongoing.

Sources: Flightradar24; Unilad Tech (Flightradar24 data); flydubai; Israeli officials via Reuters. Chart not to scale in time: the minute of the drop is enlarged.

Express InfoGenIE

Why were there additional pilots on the flight?

flydubai flight FZ1073 had a total of four pilots on board. According to Jerusalem Post, the additional pilots were present to take over the controls. flydubai was expecting a possible regional rerouting before the flight took off.

This meant that the could journey could be extended and the original crew would have to extend their duty hours. To prevent this, two additional pilots were onboard.

Cockpit doors designed to keep threats out

Cockpit doors have been reinforced and locked in flight for years to keep threats out. This case, if the accounts hold, involved a threat already inside. A sealed flight cockpit cannot, on its own, protect a plane from someone with legitimate access.

The sequence also drew a military response. Tabuk’s civilian airport sits beside a Saudi military base, and an official told CBS News that Saudi Arabia, fearing a hijack, had scrambled its own jets as the plane turned toward the kingdom.

Still unknown about the flydubai stabbing

Flydubai has described the incident as only an “altercation” and has not publicly stated a motive. Israeli officials have called it an attempted “terror” attack. However, this has not been confirmed.

The investigation is ongoing, and the account of who did what inside the cockpit rests largely on statements from Israeli officials and passengers.

Details may change as investigators examine the flight recorders and question those on board.

The reason for the cockpit fight is also unknown.

The investigation will also have to confirm if a weapon was indeed used in the stabbing. If yes, how was it smuggled on board through the multi-layered security at the origin airport?