Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian flydubai captain, wrestled a co‑pilot who stabbed him aboard flight FZ 1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv this morning, averting a potential hijacking. The altercation erupted mid‑air when the alleged saboteur attempted to tamper with the aircraft’s flight‑control systems, forcing the plane to drop more than 17,000 feet in two minutes before crew and a passenger wrestled the intruder to the floor.
Machchhar, who joined flydubai in June 2022 after a decade with SpiceJet, brings 13 years of commercial experience and 9,750 flight hours on the Boeing 737. He has served as a line‑training captain and senior commander, roles that sharpened his crisis‑management skills.
During the scramble, a flight‑crew member entered the cockpit and restored control, while a 32‑year‑old mother of two, a passenger on the flight, recalled screaming, "I saw the pilot get stabbed, and I thought the plane was going to crash." The incident triggered the emergency signal 7700, later switched to 7500 as authorities confirmed unlawful interference.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement, calling the crew "heroes" and noting that the suspect had tried to crash the plane with all 180 passengers aboard. He praised the crew’s quick actions and urged calm while authorities investigate.
The aircraft diverted to Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, where Saudi security forces seized the suspect and began questioning. A flydubai spokesperson confirmed that a formal investigation is underway and that the airline will cooperate fully with local and international authorities.
Flydubai has pledged to release a full report once the inquiry completes, and the Saudi Ministry of Interior has announced potential charges under the country’s aviation security laws. The incident underscores the heightened vigilance required in commercial aviation after a spate of near‑hijacking alerts across the Middle East.