Co-Pilot With a Knife Over Saudi Arabia: How Crew and Passengers Stopped a Dubai–Tel Aviv Crash
The co-pilot on a Flydubai flight allegedly stabbed the captain in the cockpit, and the plane dropped more than 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds before passengers and crew subdued him and diverted the flight to Saudi Arabia.
Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv experienced a dramatic mid-flight emergency on September 30, after the co-pilot, reportedly an Omani national, allegedly stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, in the cockpit. The aircraft dropped more than 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds before passengers and crew intervened.
The injured captain, despite his wounds, managed to open the cockpit door before collapsing. Several passengers and crew members rushed into the cockpit after hearing screams and seeing blood. A passenger named Yaniv, along with others including a dentist, Dr. Shota Musev, subdued the suspect using corded headphones, while off-duty pilots traveling on the flight helped regain control of the aircraft.
The plane landed safely at Tabuk Regional Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, with all 174 passengers and 6 crew members surviving. Saudi authorities arrested the co-pilot for questioning. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "one of the pilots stabbed the second pilot" and praised the passengers, saying "they saved many lives and prevented a major disaster," while Israel's transportation minister called for suspending all of the airline's flights to Israel pending investigation.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 1, 2026
