A flydubai co-pilot attacked the flight captain with a crash axe mid-flight, sending an Israel-bound passenger jet plunging over 16,625 feet. Passengers and off-duty crew members intervened to subdue the attacker, enabling a safe emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on September 30, 2026.
What began as a routine journey across the Middle East turned into a desperate struggle for survival inside a commercial cockpit on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. Flight FZ1073 departed Dubai carrying 182 people on board toward Tel Aviv when violence broke out in the flight deck. Captain Smit Machchhar was flying the Boeing 737 when his Omani co-pilot stood up, ostensibly to pray, before launching a sudden and brutal assault.
Cockpit Assault and the Plunge Over Saudi Airspace
Recounting the moments before the attack, Captain Machchhar explained that he kept his gaze forward out of respect while his co-pilot prayed. Within minutes, a heavy blow struck the back of his head. He initially mistook the impact for a mechanical failure before realizing he was being struck repeatedly by the man seated beside him.
“After about four or five minutes, my first thought was damage to the aircraft and something is not right. But then the blow kept coming, one after the other. And that’s when I realised that it’s not the aircraft, it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me.”
Captain Smit Machchhar, via India Today
The initial strikes left the captain’s vision blurred, yet he managed to fight back and activate the emergency release to open the cockpit door. As the attacker seized control, the aircraft dropped nearly 14,000 to 16,625 feet in just over 30 seconds, according to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24.
Captain Smit Machchhar joined the aviation industry with SpiceJet in June 2011 and worked for over 11 years before joining flydubai as a captain in 2022. Having logged nearly 9,750 flying hours in his career, the Mumbai native had originally enrolled in a textile engineering course and management studies at Mumbai’s Welingkar Institute of Management before discovering flying during an aviation seminar.
Passengers and Crew Overpower Attacker on Flight Deck
With the captain bleeding on the floor and the co-pilot attempting to bring the aircraft down, passengers and crew members rushed the flight deck. Among them were banking executive Tzvika Manes, plumber Yaniv Hayoun, and Asaf Rajuan, who helped overpower the attacker. Yaniv Hayoun later credited watching the Canadian television show Air Crash Investigation with helping him steady his nerves during the crisis. As the suspect was held down, passengers heard him shouting for someone to kill him.
A routine staffing precaution proved critical during the chaos. Because potential regional rerouting could extend flight times and push the original crew beyond permitted duty hours, flydubai had placed two additional pilots in the passenger cabin. When the crisis struck, those reserve aviators stepped forward, took over the controls, and safely landed the aircraft at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia at 06:58 local time.
Investigation Into the Suspect’s Background and Motives
Authorities identified the co-pilot as Omani national Hammam al-Hammami. The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general formally characterized the incident as an attempted terrorist attack carried out with a crash axe typically kept in the cockpit for emergencies. Investigators across the region, aided by the United States and other Western governments, immediately launched inquiries into his background.
Reports from intelligence sources indicated that al-Hammami had previously been removed from a job at Oman’s national airline over concerns regarding extremist views. Media outlets and security officials disclosed that he had spent time in Syria and was found to be in possession of extremist materials during his training. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the co-pilot had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and appeared to be acting out a suicide attempt.
Experts Urge Expanded Psychological Screening for Aviation Personnel
Aviation security experts urged airlines worldwide to expand psychological screening and background monitoring beyond pilots to encompass all personnel who impact flight operations.
Following the attack, flydubai suspended its regular flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv until further notice, while Israeli officials signaled that security precautions would be increased on all incoming flights. The suspect was transferred from Saudi Arabia to the UAE for joint interrogation by Emirati, Israeli, and Saudi authorities as investigators work to determine whether he acted alone or was dispatched by external handlers.