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Smit Machchhar recalls midair disaster after co-pilot's attack on Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv.
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Indian airline captain
Smit Machchhar is an Indian commercial pilot who, while serving as the captain aboard Flydubai Flight 1073 on 30 September 2026 on a Boeing 737 MAX, was stabbed by his co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami in the cockpit. Machchhar received life-threatening injuries in the attack, but managed to open the cockpit door from the inside, allowing crew and passengers to intervene and subdue the co-pilot. The airplane then safely made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, with no fatalities.
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Airline of the United Arab Emirates
Dubai Aviation Corporation, doing business as Flydubai, is an Emirati government-owned airline based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The airline mainly operates out of Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport, though some flights operate from Terminal 3. The airline operates a total of 131 destinations, serving the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe from Dubai. The company slogan is "Get Going".
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City in Central Israel
Tel Aviv, officially Tel Aviv-Yafo, and also known as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a population of 494,900, it is the economic and technological center of the country and a global high-tech hub. If East Jerusalem is considered part of Israel, Tel Aviv is the country's second-most-populous city, after Jerusalem; if not, Tel Aviv is the most populous city, ahead of West Jerusalem.
More on Wikipedia ↗He told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a video call that he forced himself back to his feet because passengers’ lives were at risk.
Captain Smit Machchhar describes surviving a midair co-pilot stabbing and regaining consciousness to open the cockpit door before an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.