Stabbed in the cockpit, Indian pilot opened the door that saved 182 lives

Lying wounded on the cockpit floor of a plunging Boeing 737, Captain Smit Machchhar told himself he had one move left. His co-pilot had just stabbed him. The plane was nosediving. He pushed himself up, reached the release, and opened the cockpit door.

That decision, made in the seconds after the attack, allowed passengers and crew to rush in, overpower the attacker, and ultimately bring Flydubai Flight FZ1073 — carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv — to a safe emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

I was lying on the floor injured, but I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside. In that moment, I was fighting for my life, at that time, I was thinking, 'What if I don't get up?'— Capt. Smit Machchhar, Flydubai captain

Machchhar, speaking by video call from an Abu Dhabi hospital on Friday — his head bandaged, tubes in his nose — broke down as he recounted the attack to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said 17 years of flying experience let him feel the aircraft's steep descent even from the floor.

I have been flying planes for 17 years and serving as a captain for the last 11 years. I can sense exactly what is happening with the aircraft even with my eyes closed. When I was down, I could feel that the aircraft was plummeting.— Capt. Smit Machchhar, Flydubai captain

I was fighting for my life. At one point, I realized that if I didn't get up … then passengers would lose their lives.— Capt. Smit Machchhar, Flydubai captain

The flight had been calm for roughly two and a half hours after departing Dubai when, near the Jordanian border, the aircraft suddenly dropped. Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24, cited by Reuters, showed the plane plunging nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. Passengers described overhead compartments flying open, the power cutting out, and screaming throughout the cabin.

The flight from Dubai was a very calm one for the first two hours. And when we were at the Jordanian border, suddenly the aircraft dropped, like a massive drop, like a massive turbulence for 20-30 seconds. Then balanced, and then once again dropped for 10 seconds and balanced again. And then we saw that in the front of the aircraft there was a riot. Many people rushed over there. Apparently, one pilot stabbed the other.— Almog Italie, passenger

According to an AP reconstruction of Flightradar24 data, the aircraft dropped from 34,000 feet to 16,600 feet, then climbed to 21,725 feet, then descended again to roughly 15,000 feet — about 200 seconds of chaotic flight in total. The plane's transponder first broadcast emergency code 7700, then switched to 7500, the code for unlawful interference with an aircraft, before returning to 7700.

Once Machchhar opened the cockpit door, passengers and crew entered and restrained the attacker. A reserve crew member — one of two off-duty pilots traveling aboard as commuters, according to FlyDubai — took control of the aircraft and landed it safely at Tabuk airport approximately an hour later.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the attacker as an Omani national and said he was arrested upon landing in Saudi Arabia and is being investigated there. According to Netanyahu, a passenger and a crew member entered the cockpit together and subdued the alleged attacker while he was attempting to interfere with the aircraft's systems.

I salute the heroes who showed extraordinary bravery and, according to the passenger's account, saved many lives.— Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz went further than Netanyahu, calling the incident an 'attempted jihadist terrorist attack.' Netanyahu himself was more cautious, saying it was 'too early to say' whether the attack was targeted or involved any Iranian role, and that the motive was not yet clear. Saudi authorities and Flydubai have also said the investigation is ongoing and urged against speculation.

According to the preliminary information available to us, the terrorist had one intention: to crash the aircraft with everyone on board.— Israel Katz, Israeli Defense Minister

Flydubai confirmed that 'an altercation occurred in the flight deck' and that on-duty crew traveling aboard secured the aircraft and diverted it safely. The airline offered no confirmation of the reported stabbing, stating that the reasons and motives behind the incident remain subject to a formal investigation. Both pilots were taken to hospital after sustaining injuries, according to Saudi Arabia's Tabuk airport.

On Thursday, UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi announced that the UAE had launched its own investigation to gather evidence and 'determine the truth of the incident, its circumstances, details, and motives, and to verify the extent of its connection to any terrorist activity.' Separate inquiries by Israeli, Saudi, and UAE authorities are all ongoing.

The incident immediately raised questions about pilot vetting. The co-pilot was reportedly employed by Flydubai less than a year ago, according to Al Jazeera, though no official confirmation of his qualifications or flying history has been released. Flydubai, as a UAE operator, falls under the oversight of the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority. According to a statement the European Union Aviation Safety Agency gave Reuters, responsibility for ensuring the airline's flight crews meet fitness-to-fly requirements rests with the GCAA. Standard GCAA requirements include a professional pilot's licence, aircraft type rating, Class 1 medical certificate — which covers physical and mental health — and English language proficiency.

Pilot vetting is very thorough, from security and financial checks to mental health evaluation. But those checks are a single snapshot in time and will never uncover whether a person has issues that then manifest in the workplace or flight deck.— Saj Ahmad, chief analyst, StrategicAero Research

Israel said it would now conduct security checks on the identity of every pilot flying into the country. Flydubai has suspended its Israel flights pending the investigation.

A Mumbai native who lives in Dubai with his wife and two children, Machchhar has accumulated nearly 9,750 flying hours across a career spanning roughly 15 years. He spent more than a decade with Indian carrier SpiceJet before joining Flydubai in 2022. Philip Kean, CEO of Mainland Air, the New Zealand flight school where Machchhar trained, told the AP that while pilots receive training for dealing with an incapacitated colleague, nothing prepares them for a stabbing attack carried out by one.

I don't think there's much in the handbook for being stabbed.— Philip Kean, CEO, Mainland Air

In his conversation with Machchhar, Modi said his 'courage, patience, and presence of mind' saved many lives. Netanyahu called him 'a true hero.' Machchhar told Modi he recited the Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu devotional hymn, during the attack. 'Lord Hanuman gave me courage,' he said. He is now recovering in Abu Dhabi, where the Indian Embassy said Thursday he was 'in good health and recovering well.'

Others came in and also played a role [in controlling the situation]. I was of course fighting for my own life, but at the same time I knew I was not going to let others die.— Capt. Smit Machchhar, Flydubai captain

Why it matters — The incident has exposed gaps in pilot vetting and cockpit security on international routes, prompted Israel to announce new identity checks on all pilots flying into the country, and grounded Flydubai's Israel service while three countries investigate whether a commercial flight carrying 182 people was deliberately targeted.

Sources differ on Whether the incident was a deliberate terror attack: Israeli Defense Minister Katz called it an 'attempted jihadist terrorist attack'; two Israeli officials told Reuters it may have been a terror attack. (foxnews.com) vs Netanyahu said it is 'too early to say' whether it was a targeted attack or involved an Iranian role; motive not yet clear. (aljazeera.com) vs Flydubai and Saudi authorities said the underlying reasons and motives remain under formal investigation and urged against speculation. (foxnews.com)

Reported by thehill.com, foxnews.com, abcnews.com, nytimes.com, reuters.com, moneycontrol.com, aljazeera.com, indianexpress.com