UAE: Flydubai co-pilot used crash axe to attack captain in terrorism attempt

Attack mid-flight

On Wednesday, Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv was about two and a half hours into its journey when the co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe kept in the cockpit for emergencies and attempted to seize control, UAE prosecutor general Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said, describing it as an attempted 'terrorist attack'. Euronews and The Guardian report 182 people were on board, while the BBC cites 'more than 170' passengers. The aircraft plunged sharply — by 17,000 feet (around 5,200m), according to the BBC — and transmitted a general emergency code before switching to a code signalling unlawful interference, or hijacking.

The captain hailed as a hero

Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, was stabbed but managed to unlock the cockpit door, letting passengers and crew in. He said that as he lay injured on the floor and felt the plane descending, he knew it was his last chance to act. According to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the alarm was first raised by an Israeli woman, Tali Manes, who heard a commotion from the cockpit. Her husband Zvika Manes, along with Yaniv Hayun, Dr Shota Musayev and Asaf Rajuan, entered the cockpit and subdued the attacker — Hayun put him in a chokehold and briefly took the controls himself. Two reserve pilots then landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia. Machchhar was hospitalised and later airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where the Indian embassy says he is in stable condition and recovering well.

Questions over the co-pilot

Several outlets, including AP, Reuters, CNN and The New York Times, have named the co-pilot as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, though this has not been officially confirmed. According to the Wall Street Journal and AP sources, Oman had barred him from flying over concerns about radical views and moved him to an administrative role at Oman Air; he was later hired by Flydubai, and it remains unclear how thoroughly he was vetted. Born in the UAE, he completed a distance-learning aviation management degree at Buckinghamshire New University in the UK in 2023 but took no pilot training there. His Instagram account was active until the day of the flight, then deleted. A key question for investigators is how he came to be working this flight at all, since Israel has agreements with carriers to keep out pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with it — and Israel and Oman have none.

Investigation and fallout

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot had undergone 'Islamist radicalisation' but offered no evidence; he said the attacker shouted 'kill me, kill me' after being subdued, suggesting suicidal intent. UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash called the attack a 'dangerous terrorist act' and praised the captain as a hero. Security agencies from four regional countries, assisted by the US and other Western governments, are investigating. The UAE has cancelled all flights to Israel, Israel's El Al has cancelled flights to the UAE, and the two countries have agreed on repatriation flights for stranded passengers.