Flydubai Incident Highlights: After Flydubai scare, Israel to launch repatriation flights for stranded passengers

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Thursday that Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot injured in the flydubai cockpit attack, has been shifted to Abu Dhabi from Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, for continued medical treatment and recovery.

“We continue to closely follow the health condition of Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national and the brave pilot of FlyDubai flight FZ 1073. After receiving initial medical treatment in a hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, he has now been shifted to Abu Dhabi for continued medical attention and recovery,” the MEA said. Read more

Several key questions remain unanswered:

Flydubai has urged against premature speculation while authorities investigate the incident.

Israel has some of the world’s most stringent air travel security measures. The United Arab Emirates proudly adheres to international aviation safety standards. Yet those safeguards failed to prevent a flight between the countries from taking a dangerous plunge during an alleged attack in the cockpit.

The copilot allegedly stabbed the captain in the cockpit before passengers intervened aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 after taking off from Dubai, UAE, with 174 people flying to Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday.The airplane made a safe emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and the incident is under investigation by Saudi, Emirati and Israeli authorities, with the United States and Oman assisting efforts to determine a motive.

“Until this event, the possibility of a threat originating from a pilot or crew member was not considered a likely scenario. Security efforts have traditionally focused much more heavily on passengers and their luggage,” said Eyal Hulata, Israel’s former national security adviser. “That will probably change now and crew members will be subject to heavier screening.”

The weapon used to attack Indian Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit of flydubai flight FZ1073 remains unclear, with conflicting accounts pointing to a knife or the aircraft’s emergency crash axe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker might have struck Machchhar with an axe, adding another possibility to the investigation into the September 30 incident, The Times of Israel reported, while noting that crash axes are generally carried in aircraft cockpits for emergency use. Read more

The Gujarat government will honour Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who fought off his co-pilot after the man tried to crash the flydubai plane. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the state will give him the 'Visisht Gujarat Garima Award' for his courage in saving 174 passengers. In a post on X in Gujarati, Patel said the whole world is saluting the pilot. He said Machchhar showed "indomitable bravery" even though he was covered in blood after the attack, calling it an act that is deeply inspiring.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "could have been" behind the bloody cockpit attack on flydubai Flight 1073, while authorities continue to investigate. Asked by Fox News reporter Peter Doocy if he had been briefed on any link between Iran and the Omani co-pilot accused of stabbing the pilot, Trump said officials were working on it. He added that they were being "very open" with the US, and that the answer, based on what he was hearing, was yes. He gave no details or evidence for the claim.

The co-pilot suspected of Wednesday's flydubai attack has left Saudi Arabia for Abu Dhabi with a security team after doctors cleared him to travel, Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry said, according to CNN.

In a statement on Thursday, the ministry said early findings from Saudi authorities, with help from a UAE security team, showed the co-pilot assaulted the captain, leaving both men with injuries. Both were taken to hospital after flight FZ1073 made its emergency landing in Tabuk.

Once their condition improved and doctors cleared them, they flew to Abu Dhabi on Thursday morning local time, escorted by an Emirati security team. Indian officials had said earlier that Captain Smit Machchhar was moved to Abu Dhabi for further medical care. Authorities have not named the co-pilot, and have not given a motive or said what weapon was used.

The ministry added that Saudi Arabia handles emergencies in line with its international and humanitarian duties, and with rules meant to keep air travel safe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the co-pilot had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination and appeared to be suicidal.

“We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Netanyahu told Fox News, saying the assessment was based on information gathered about the co-pilot’s personal background. He said it appeared likely that the attacker intended to bring down the aircraft.

Netanyahu, however, cautioned that he was not drawing a final conclusion. “But again, I don’t make final conclusions yet. But that’s the indications we have now,” he said. Read more

A flydubai pilot who said he worked with the Omani co-pilot accused of attacking Indian captain Smit Machchhar aboard flight FZ1073 described him as a “religious extremist” and said he frequently displayed unusually strict religious behaviour, Israeli media reported.

The colleague told Israel’s Channel 16 that the co-pilot had joined flydubai about eight months ago and that he “prayed a lot” and would not shake hands with women. The description has not been independently verified and does not. The account was also reported by The Times of Israel.

The co-pilot, whose name has not been publicly disclosed, has been identified by Israeli officials as an Omani national. He remains under investigation after Wednesday’s incident aboard flydubai flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Read more

A teacher from Gurukul School of Art paints a portrait honoring Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot with FlyDubai, in Mumbai, India. AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

US President Donald Trump has said Iran will face a harsh response if investigators find it was linked to the co-pilot accused of trying to crash a flight bound for Israel. Investigators are still trying to work out why the co-pilot stabbed the captain of the flydubai plane, which then fell sharply before other people on board stepped in. The plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia, with more than 180 people on board.

Asked by reporters at the White House if he had been told of any link between the attacker and Iran, Trump said officials were "working on it right now". Pressed on whether he thought Iran was involved, he said the answer was yes, based on what he was hearing, but that work was still going on. He did not give details or evidence.

Asked if the US would hit back should Iran be behind the incident, Trump said Iran would be "hit, very hard". He added that Iran "knows what happened", and told reporters to ask them.

Flydubai pilot Smit Machchchar – the Mumbai man who was stabbed as he tried to stop his Omani co-pilot from taking control of Tel Aviv-bound flight FZ1073, and potentially crashing it – has been hailed as a hero for actions that likely saved over 170 lives. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his courage and quick thinking – unlocking the cockpit door despite a grievous injury, which allowed passengers to overpower the co-pilot and safely land the plane – ‘saved us from another 9/11-like incident‘. And Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu called him a ‘true hero’.

Machchhar, who describes himself as a lifelong learner and as someone who helps others fly higher in his LinkedIn bio, has over 15 years of commercial flying experience. With a “strong focus on safety and operational excellence”, Machchhar joined flydubai in June 2022 and has been operating as a direct-entry captain. Before that, he served as the senior commander and line training captain with SpiceJet. He had flown over 9,500 hours with SpiceJet after joining the private airline in June 2011. Read more