The Flydubai cockpit attack that almost became a crash

What started as a routine Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight turned into one of the most closely watched aviation incidents of the year. Flydubai flight FZ1073 was more than two hours into the journey, carrying roughly 170 passengers, most of them Israeli, when the co-pilot attacked the captain inside the cockpit.

Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot with 17 years in the air and 11 as captain, later told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi what happened next. He was stabbed, fell to the floor, and was still being hit when he realized the Boeing 737 was dropping. In his account he forced one last push, opened the cockpit door from the inside, and passengers rushed in and restrained the attacker. Two reserve pilots who were already on board then landed the aircraft at Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.The numbers attached to the dive varied slightly by outlet — some put the loss of altitude above 14,000 feet, others closer to 17,000 — but the sequence was consistent: a sudden plunge, a wounded captain, a door opened under attack, and a recovery that aviation observers called extraordinary.

Netanyahu publicly praised Machchhar and said early investigation pointed to an Omani co-pilot who had undergone what he described as Islamist radical indoctrination. He also said that once subdued, the attacker told crew to kill him. Trump warned that Iran would be hit “very hard” if a link were confirmed. Machchhar was reported stable after being moved from Tabuk to Abu Dhabi.The incident immediately reopened arguments about cockpit-door rules, crew screening, and how a two-pilot flight deck is supposed to work when one of the pilots is the threat.