Captain Smit Machchhar was bleeding from stab wounds when he opened the cockpit door. That, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says, is what let passengers and crew overpower the man attacking him.
The flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, a Boeing 737 Max 8 carrying 174 people, was about two and a half hours out when it fell from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in roughly a minute, according to Flightradar24. The jet then looped erratically near the Jordanian border and landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, about an hour later. Netanyahu said the copilot stabbed the captain in an apparent attempt to crash the aircraft. The date was Wednesday, September 30. Saudi Arabia arrested the copilot, who has not been identified. His motive is unclear.
Inside the cabin
Passenger Adam Polo told CNN the first jolt felt like “a normal air pocket.” One second later, he said, “you felt that the decrease and the acceleration of the downfall is not normal.” The power went out, the screens died and anyone not seated was thrown to the floor. Another passenger, Hila Gaier, described “complete chaos,” with overhead bins flying open and oxygen masks that never dropped.
Yaniv Hayoun, one of the passengers who forced their way in, said the cockpit door “apparently wasn’t locked, and we managed to open it.” Inside, he found the attacker apparently trying to destroy the controls. The stabbed pilot was on the other side of the door. Hayoun told Netanyahu he put the attacker in a chokehold, dragged him out, then took the controls and pulled back as he had seen on television. Crew members took over after that. Flydubai said on-duty crew traveling on the flight diverted and landed the aircraft safely. Who flew the final approach remains unclear.
Dentist Shota Musayev ran to the cockpit and found the attacker on top of the pilot. He said the captain “was just praying the whole time” and that he feared they would lose him. The attacker was tied with zip ties and headphone cords.
Fear after the fight
Passenger Assaf Rajuan said the terror did not end once the man was restrained. Nobody knew where the plane would land. “We even started suspecting the flight attendants,” he said, and passengers watched the crew closely, afraid of a hostage situation.
Air traffic audio told a similar story. A person who heard the radio calls said the pilot’s voice trembled as he declared mayday. Saudi Arabia first denied clearance and pointed him toward Jordan, which turned the plane away. He returned and said he had to land at Tabuk. The airport said the plane touched down at 9:45 a.m., an hour after the distress call. Aviation expert Steve Arroyo was stunned the jet held together after most of the rudder tore off in the dive. “I’m just amazed the aircraft didn’t come apart,” he said.
A hero at home
In India, Machchhar is being hailed as a hero. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X that “India is proud of Captain Machchhar” and that he showed “immense courage” despite serious injury. Netanyahu said the captain “managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster.” The Indian embassy in Riyadh said he was in stable condition at a hospital in Tabuk.
Israel scrambled warplanes during the emergency, and its Foreign Ministry called the incident an attempted terrorist attack. Passengers flew on to Israel on a replacement flydubai plane after Saudi Arabia rejected an Israeli request to send its own aircraft. Flydubai suspended flights to and from Israel while investigators work, and Israel has said it will join the probe with the UAE.
Sources
- Dubai to Tel Aviv flight diverted to Saudi Arabia after pilot stabbed | CNN
- Pilot stabs fellow pilot on flight to Israel before passengers intervene to stop attack – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale
