‘I was not going to let others die’: Flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar’s desperate push to open cockpit door

Fighting back from the cockpit floor

In his first public remarks since the suspected hijacking attempt, Captain Machchhar said, “I was lying on the floor injured, but I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside. In that moment, I was fighting for my life, at that time, I was thinking, ‘What if I don’t get up?'”

Express InfoGenIE · Aviation

Flydubai FZ1073: 4 hours that changed mid-air

A reconstruction of the Dubai–Tel Aviv flight, from take-off to an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, built around its altitude record.

KEY:Flight-tracking dataPassenger accountsAllegationReported

01

The flight begins

03:05 GMT · DUBAI

Flight

Flydubai FZ1073

Route

Dubai → Tel Aviv

Aircraft

Boeing 737 MAX 8

Cruise

About 34,000 ft

0k ft10k ft20k ft30k ft03:0504:0005:0006:0006:58​​​​Take-off → climb → cruise05:21 plunge06:58 Tabuk

Flight-tracking data

Source: AP reconstruction of Flightradar24 data

02

The sudden plunge

05:21 GMT

34,000 FTCRUISING

→

16,600 FTBY 05:22:40 GMT

34k30k25k20k15k05:20:3005:23:0005:26:0034,000 ft16,600 ft21,725 ft15,000 ft​​

More than half its altitude lost · then a sharp climb and a second descent

Flight-tracking data

After the drop to 16,600 ft the aircraft climbed to 21,725 ft, then descended again to 15,000 ft at 05:24:29 GMT — the lowest altitude it held until landing.

Source: AP, Flightradar24. Timing of the 21,725 ft peak is approximate.

03

The cockpit emergency

Photo: ReutersCAPTAIN ATTACKED

Indian pilot Smit Machchhar was injured.

Reported

CO-PILOT

Accused of attacking the captain. Motive and intent not established.

Allegation

Passenger accounts

Passengers realised something was seriously wrong.

Reported

Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door despite his injuries, allowing passengers and crew to enter and restrain the attacker.

Source: AP

04

Distress codes: what do they mean?

05:28 GMT7700

General emergency

05:35 GMT7500

Unlawful interference / hijacking

held for about an hour

06:28 GMT7700

General emergency

Squawk codes are four-digit numbers pilots set on the transponder so air-traffic control can see the aircraft’s status on radar.

The aircraft also changed course: at 05:42 GMT it turned west, briefly entering Jordanian airspace, and at 05:46 GMT it turned towards Tabuk.

Flight-tracking data

Source: AP, Flightradar24, Al Jazeera

05

The plane keeps dropping

CRUISE34,000

feet

FIRST PLUNGE16,600

feet

FURTHER DESCENT~15,000

feet

About 200 seconds of chaotic flight: AP’s reconstruction describes the aircraft zigzagging through a series of steep descents and climbs.

Flight-tracking data

Source: AP

06

Passengers take action

INSIDE THE CABIN

COCKPIT​​​​​​​

1

Captain opens cockpit door

2

Passengers rush inside

3

Attacker restrained

4

Control of aircraft regained

Passenger accounts

Passengers described the aircraft repeatedly dropping and recovering during the struggle.

Source: AP

07

Emergency landing

​ TEL AVIVdestination05:42 turns westbriefly into JordanTABUKemergency landingDUBAI03:05 GMT

06:58 GMT · TABUK, SAUDI ARABIA

A reserve crew member who was on board took control, and the aircraft landed safely.

Source: AP, Flightradar24

08

What investigators still need to establish

WHY?

Why did the cockpit attack happen?

WHO?

What was the co-pilot’s motive?

HOW?

What happened inside the cockpit, and in what order? Why did the aircraft change altitude repeatedly?

SECURITY?

How did the co-pilot pass security and vetting procedures?

Investigations by authorities in Israel, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are continuing.

Source: AP, Reuters

Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, Flightradar24, Indian Express. All times GMT.

Express InfoGenIE

‘I was not going to let others die’

The Indian pilot, who was seen with a tube in his nose and bandages on his head and hands while speaking to Modi, said, “Others came in and also played a role [in controlling the situation]. I was of course fighting for my own life, but at the same time I knew I was not going to let others die.”

How the flydubai flight was brought under control

Officials said the flydubai plane sent an emergency signal to air traffic controllers before it switched to hijacking code squawk 7500. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said one pilot stabbed another pilot before “apparently trying to crash” the plane.

A passenger on board a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv captured the moment it landed safely in Saudi Arabia after an ordeal of what Israeli officials said was an attempt to crash the plane https://t.co/YJoleEhjZI pic.twitter.com/E9QMuqGM23

— Reuters (@Reuters) October 2, 2026

After the attacker was overpowered by the passengers, two reserve pilots who were travelling in the plane as commuters landed the flydubai flight FZ1073 at Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk airport in the northwestern region. Machchhar was seriously injured in the attack and was later shifted from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi for continued medical treatment and recovery, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

PM Modi praises Captain Machchhar’s courage

Modi told the Indian pilot that “his courage, patience and quick decision-making saved the lives of so many people,” and that India was proud of his “brave act”. According to an update by the Indian Embassy in the UAE on Thursday, Machchhar was “in good health and recovering well”.