Flydubai co-pilot attacked captain with crash axe in attempted terrorist act, UAE says

A flydubai co-pilot attacked his captain with a crash axe mid-flight on the carrier’s Dubai-Tel Aviv route, sending the aircraft into a steep descent. The plane plunged more than 17,000 feet before passengers and crew overpowered the attacker.

UAE Prosecutor General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said the co-pilot “attempted to carry out a terrorist act” on Flight FZ1073, which flew from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday with 174 passengers on board. State news agency WAM quoted al-Shamsi as saying the attacker tried to take control of the aircraft’s flight controls. The investigation is ongoing to uncover all circumstances of the incident, its motives, and related connections, in addition to completing technical examinations and examining physical and digital evidence, al-Shamsi said.

Inside the cockpit

A crash axe is a tool kept in the cockpit to help pilots cut through the aircraft in emergencies. In this case it was turned against the captain, Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, who was stabbed and injured in the attack. The plunge occurred two and a half hours into the journey. Machchhar said he was lying on the cockpit floor injured when he realised the plane was sinking. “I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside,” he said. He opened the cockpit door to seek help when wounded, allowing those outside to enter.

Machchhar was taken to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to Abu Dhabi. The Indian embassy in the UAE said on Thursday that Machchhar was in “good health and recovering well.”

Subdual and emergency landing

Passengers and crew entered the cockpit and overpowered the attacker. A second pair of pilots brought the aircraft back under control after the attacker was subdued. The flight was diverted and made an emergency landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities arrested the co-pilot and handed him over to the UAE. Machchhar was also returned to the UAE.

Netanyahu’s account

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Thursday that the co-pilot was an Omani national. After being subdued, the attacker called out to the crew, “Kill me, kill me!” Netanyahu said the attacker “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination” and that it was likely the attacker was going to down the plane. On Friday, Netanyahu said Israel was looking into whether the co-pilot had acted under anyone’s direction, warning that anyone involved would pay a “heavy price.”

Route disruption and repatriation

Flydubai halted all flights on its Israel route after the incident. Israel’s El Al cancelled its scheduled flights, stranding some Israelis in the UAE. At 22:00 GMT on Friday, the first repatriation flight, operated by Israeli carrier Arkia, arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport from Dubai.