An Omani co-pilot used a crash axe to stab his captain in the cockpit of a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv on September 30, 2026, sending the Boeing 737 Max 8 into a steep mid-air plunge over Saudi Arabia before passengers and crew members subdued the attacker and landed safely.
Co-Pilot Attacks Captain and Plunges Jet Over Saudi Arabia
Flight FZ1073 left Dubai at 3:05 a.m. local time on September 30, 2026, carrying more than 170 passengers on a scheduled journey to Tel Aviv. About two hours into the flight, while cruising at 34,000 feet over Saudi Arabia, the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the cockpit with a crash axe.
Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 recorded the jet descending from 34,000 to 16,000 feet in three minutes, with other tracking data showing a drop of more than 5,000 metres in just over 30 seconds. The aircraft plunged rapidly, losing thousands of feet of altitude in seconds.
Almog Italie, a passenger traveling with his family, recalled that the airplane dived. Another passenger, Tali Manes, heard heavy blows against the cockpit door while taking her six-year-old daughter to the toilet and alerted a flight attendant that something was wrong. Passengers described widespread panic in the cabin.
Passengers Overpower Attacker and Land Safely in Tabuk
Covered in blood, the injured Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, managed to click the release to open the cockpit door. Several passengers and crew members rushed inside, overpowered the co-pilot, and restrained him using the cord of the cockpit earphones.
He managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members, and together they subdued the pilot who had committed the stabbing while he was attempting to sabotage the aircraft’s systems.
Passenger Yaniv Hayoun confronted and subdued the co-pilot. A reserve Flydubai pilot traveling on the flight took over the controls alongside another crew member, stabilizing the jet and diverting it to Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Local authorities on the ground detained the co-pilot and provided medical assistance, food, and shelter to the 182 people on board, which included four pilots.
Authorities Identify Co-Pilot as Islamist Extremist
International media outlets and investigators identified the co-pilot as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national born in the UAE to an Omani father and Syrian mother who spent several years of his life in the UAE. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that preliminary evidence indicated the suspect had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination
and shared extremist views online. Emirati authorities later classified the incident as a terrorist attack, with UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi confirming that investigations found the co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist attack.
Reporting by the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and the Associated Press revealed that the co-pilot had been previously banned from flying by Oman over concerns regarding extremist views, having left Oman Air in February 2025 before subsequently working for Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc from June 2025 to January 2026 and eventually joining Flydubai.
Federal police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) AFR are investigating the co-pilot over his time in Australia, where he may have studied engineering at a local university.
Captain Recovers as Officials Examine Outside Direction
Captain Smit Machchhar was hospitalized to recover from stab wounds, with the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia stating that he was in stable condition and that officials were in touch with his family. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Machchhar for his courage, patience, and presence of mind
in sensing the steep descent and fighting to survive despite severe injuries.
Saudi authorities extradited the suspect to the United Arab Emirates, where the UAE-led investigation continues alongside participation from Israeli investigators to examine whether he acted under outside direction.