Indian pilot Smit Machchhar shattered a mid‑air terror plot when an Omani co‑pilot stabbed him and tried to seize the controls of flydubai Flight FZ1073, a 737‑MAX carrying 174 people, on 27 June 2026. The attacker, armed with a makeshift axe, lunged at the cockpit, but Machchhar, still conscious, forced the door open and shouted for help, forcing the plane to descend sharply before the crew could divert it.
Inside the cockpit, passengers Yaniv Hayun, Assaf Rajuan and Zvika Manes, all Israeli nationals, rushed in and, with improvised restraints, wrestled the attacker to the floor. Dentist Shota Musaev, another passenger, rushed to Machchhar’s side, staunched bleeding, and kept him alive until the aircraft touched down.
The crew, led by first officer Nabil al‑Hammadi, maintained control of the aircraft after the co‑pilot was neutralised, guiding the plane to the Royal Saudi Air Force base in Tabuk for an emergency landing. The cockpit was left open, a detail confirmed by co‑pilot’s own statements to Israeli media.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both released statements lauding Machchhar’s heroism. Modi called him a “living legend” while Netanyahu met Hayun at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, praising the “courage of ordinary people”.
A joint investigation by Saudi and UAE aviation authorities is scheduled for July 5 to determine the attacker’s motives and any possible external links. Machchhar is now in a hospital in Tabuk, expected to recover over the coming weeks.