Flydubai incident: altercation, emergency landing and investigation | Explained

The story so far: On September 30, 2026, a flydubai Boeing 737-8 MAX flight, FZ 1073, had an in-flight incident while en route from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv, Israel — a 2,100-kilometre-plus sector covered in three hours. The aircraft was diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia and safely landed despite extensive damage to the aircraft. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that one pilot stabbed the other and “apparently tried to crash the plane”. Most of the 174 passengers on board were Israelis. Flydubai has announced the suspension of all flights to and from Israel. An investigation has begun.What happened to the flight?Media reports have said that an altercation is alleged to have broken out between the two flight crew members, with one of the pilots being stabbed. Amid the commotion on the flight deck, the aircraft squawked a series of transponder codes that are used globally during an aviation emergency. In this instance, the codes (7700 and 7500) denoted an emergency (in the case of mechanical or technical problems) as well as trouble due to a hijack or ‘unlawful interference’. This may have prompted Saudi Arabia and Israel to scramble fighter jets. The Boeing 737, which was flying at about 34,000 feet, made a sudden descent to about 19,000 feet before levelling off at about 15,000 feet.The incident happened about two and a half hours into the flight. The jet, which was in Jordanian airspace for a short while, looped back to Saudi Arabia and landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk. This civil-military airfield is also the base of the Royal Saudi Air Force Wing 7. Pictures showed that the aircraft had substantial damage. An emergency descent can be controlled, but in this instance, where descent could have been initiated erratically, there can be severe damage and stress to the crucial flight control surfaces and even the aircraft's tail. Ground images from Tabuk showed damage to the rudder on the tail/vertical stabiliser of the aircraft — a large part of it was missing. Passengers are seen deboarding the aircraft using a step ladder from Saudi Ground Services (SGS) Company, the ground handling agency.The airport said that its Air Traffic Control centre had received a distress call from the flight requesting an emergency landing.What are the details about the crew?The captain was Smit Machchhar, an Indian national and former SpiceJet pilot, recruited by Flydubai in 2022. He is reported to be based in Dubai, with over a decade of commercial flying experience and more than 9,000 hours on the Boeing 737 aircraft. Other reports identify the co-pilot as an Omani national.In a post on X, the Indian Embassy has said: “Our Embassy in Riyadh and Consulate in Jeddah have been following the health condition of Mr. Smit Machchhar... He is admitted in a hospital in Tabuk city in northwest Saudi Arabia and is receiving necessary medical attention. A full update on his health is awaited, but he is reported to be in stable condition....”What are the other details?Media reports, eyewitness accounts and in-flight video clips have detailed how passengers were overtaken by the events, with chaos prevailing towards the front of the aircraft.Briefs by Reuters and the Times of Israel say that “after being stabbed and seriously wounded by the copilot, the Indian captain managed to click open the cockpit door, which allowed several Israelis to burst in and subdue the attacker”, attributing this to a spokesperson for Mr. Netanyahu. Other flydubai pilots, who were in the cabin, were able to intervene and carry out the safe landing in Saudi Arabia.The reports also quote a Netanyahu spokesman, Doron Spielman, as saying that the captain, “who was bloodied and lying on the floor, had drawn on the last moments of his energy to click open the release on the cockpit door ... At that moment, some of the passengers who realised something was happening raced forward, [and] entered the pilot’s cabin. They saw the injured pilot on the ground, and the other… the attacking pilot was standing over the control panel, bashing the control panel.”Reports quote passengers talking about a (pocket) knife having been used in the attack. Other reports cite the flight deck crash axe as having been used in the confrontation. A senior Boeing pilot has told The Hindu that the crash axe (a mandatory aircraft safety emergency tool for aircrew) is “normally stored near the pilot seats. It is to be accessed quickly and is in plain sight. It is used by the crew to breach the fuselage in an emergency and if there is structural deformation”.Some passengers and cabin crew are reported to have restored order, enabling the flydubai pilots in the passenger cabin to take over.A video clip with aviation sources — and shared with The Hindu — has shown both pilots on the cabin floor, bleeding profusely, with bloodstains on the cabin wall. One of the pilots can be seen in a blood-soaked shirt with epaulettes, while the other crew member can be seen with an oxygen mask. Some passengers around the injured pilots can be seen asking for the filming to stop.On October 1, an All India Radio bulletin said that the “Saudi authorities have arrested the Omani co-pilot”.In a post on X, Mr. Netanyahu said: “My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery... he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster... He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals... He is a true hero.”Another post highlighted “security services being instructed to prepare for additional potential threats”.In an interview with a media outlet, Mr. Netanyahu said, “The attacking pilot is now being investigated [in] Saudi Arabia. I think he’ll be taken to the Emirates where he comes from — or at least where he flew off from. We’ll be following and also possibly participating in this investigation.”On October 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on X, said, “Captain Smit Machchhar is a HERO. In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others. His valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy. India is proud of Captain Machchhar....”What has the airline said?In three statements shared with The Hindu, a flydubai spokesperson said that “flydubai can confirm that flight FZ 1073 operating to Ben Gurion International Airport experienced an incident while en route. The aircraft landed safely in Tabuk Airport and all passengers are safe and accounted for.In the second statement, the spokesperson said that “an altercation occurred in the flight deck and the aircraft was successfully secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely. We have deployed two replacement aircraft to Tabuk to relieve the passengers and crew. This incident has no impact on other scheduled operations across the flydubai network”. The spokesperson said that “at this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation, urging all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts”.In the third statement, the spokesperson said that “in coordination with the relevant authorities, flydubai flights to and from Israel will be suspended while the investigation continues.” The statement added that the airline is “fully committed to supporting the ongoing investigation”, remains “in close coordination with government authorities, regulators and airport stakeholders and will review the suspension as more information becomes available”.The airline, which is owned by the Dubai Aviation Corporation, commenced operations in June 2009 and has a network of over 125 destinations, which includes India. It currently uses a single aircraft type, the Boeing 737. In 2017, it announced an extensive partnership with Emirates, one of the largest global airlines.How is the investigation proceeding?The incident has focused attention on earlier instances of ‘unlawful interference’, examples being the Japan Airlines flight 350 in 1982, Royal Air Maroc flight 630 in 1994, Silk Air flight 185 in 1997, EgyptAir flight 990 in 1999, LAM Mozambique Airlines flight 47 in 2013 and the Germanwings flight 9525 crash in 2015.Israeli authorities are reported to have opened an investigation against the first officer. Saudi Arabia’s National Transport Safety Centre, which is described as the national reference authority for safety investigations across all modes of transport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority, described as a federal autonomous body, too have begun an investigation.Some reports have referred to undefined “threats” against Israel ahead of the anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. However, the reasons are speculative, and the motives will have to be established through a full investigation.Israel has decided to step up security checks on all pilots flying into the country, according to a Reuters report that has quoted a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s office.