Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Captain Smit Machchhar of Flydubai for saving the lives of 174 people on board after he was stabbed by his co-pilot, who allegedly attempted to bring down the aircraft. Netanyahu's remarks were made on Wednesday as the Israeli government announced it would verify the identities of all pilots flying into the country. Flydubai has suspended flights to and from Israel while investigating the incident involving Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu described Captain Machchhar, an Indian national, as having "fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker." Despite sustaining serious injuries, Machchhar was credited with preventing a potential mid-air disaster. He was later referred to as a "true hero" by Netanyahu on social media.
The Boeing 737 Max 8 made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, following the incident. Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 reported that the aircraft descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in approximately one minute. Netanyahu indicated that most passengers were Israeli and stated that the co-pilot had "apparently intended to bring the aircraft down as it approached Israel." The co-pilot remains unidentified and was arrested and interrogated by Saudi authorities after the landing.
A motive for the attack has not yet been determined. Flydubai characterized the event as an "altercation in the cockpit" and confirmed that the crew members successfully diverted and landed the aircraft safely. The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) acknowledged the incident as a security matter that was managed effectively.
Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Netanyahu, announced that Israel will conduct identity checks on all pilots entering the country. "Every pilot that is going to be flying into Israel, we are going to know the pilots’ identities, know who they are, and do some type of security check," he stated to Reuters.
U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned that he had spoken with Netanyahu regarding the incident, noting that an Israeli plumber intervened to prevent the plane from crashing. Trump described the co-pilot as possibly being a terrorist and recounted how the plumber helped to regain control of the aircraft.
A rescue flight operated by Flydubai transported all passengers from Tabuk to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport at 15:34 GMT. Passengers described the experience as miraculous, recounting a chaotic struggle to avert disaster. Yaniv Hayun, who entered the cockpit, stated he pulled back the controls as he had seen on television until the crew took over.
Netanyahu's office shared a video of the prime minister embracing Hayun at the airport, where Hayun was still wearing his bloodstained shirt from the flight. Asaf Rajuan, another passenger who assisted in restraining the attacker, remarked that the response was instinctual, driven by the desire to protect loved ones. Other passengers expressed their fear during the descent, with one stating they thought, "We’re going to die."
India’s Embassy in Riyadh reported that Captain Machchhar is receiving medical attention in a hospital in Tabuk and is in stable condition, with the embassy awaiting further updates on his health.