Captain Smit Machchhar fought off a hijacking attempt on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv after his co-pilot attacked him with a cockpit crash axe. The aircraft nosedived more than 17,000 feet before passengers and crew subdued the attacker and diverted the flight to Saudi Arabia.
Co-Pilot Attacks Captain Mid-Flight
Flight FZ1073 was two and a half hours into its journey from Dubai to Tel Aviv when violence broke out in the cockpit. The flight carried 182 people on board, including passengers and crew.
Captain Smit Machchhar told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call that his Omani co-pilot asked to pray shortly before the assault. Out of respect, the captain continued looking ahead. The co-pilot then used a crash ax, a cockpit fixture, to carry out the attack.
“My first thought was that there had been catastrophic damage to the plane, that something was wrong. But then the blows kept coming, one after another. That’s when I realized it wasn’t the aircraft – it was the other guy in the cockpit with me.”
Captain Smit Machchhar, via Haaretz
Machchhar recalled that his vision quickly faded as the aircraft began to plummet. While struggling on the floor and sensing the aircraft sinking rapidly, the captain made a final push to open the cockpit door. He managed to unlatch it despite the attacker slamming it shut, allowing passengers waiting outside to rush in.
Passengers Subdue Attacker
Passengers behind the cockpit door heard screams and realized danger was imminent.
“I grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold and pulled him out. I called the Israelis who were with us, jumped back in and pulled the controls. I started pulling them back.”
Yaniv Hayun, via Ynetnews
Shota helped bind the attacker’s hands and legs while he continued to struggle, then immediately turned to provide emergency medical treatment to the bleeding captain. Passengers noted that the attacker attempted to destroy the instrument panel before being restrained.
An unusual confrontation followed inside the cabin. According to passengers Tzvika Manes and Daniel Schlichter, some crew members demanded that the restrained suspect be freed. The Israeli travelers refused, arguing that the attacker needed to remain tied down for investigation. To maintain security, the passengers escorted the crew members back into the cabin and stationed a “big guy” to guard the cockpit entrance.
Screening Failures Reveal Extremist Ties
CNN identified the suspect as Hamam al-Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani national. Sources disclosed that al-Hammami had been removed from a previous position at Oman’s national airline after concerns about extremist views. Despite this dismissal, he was hired by UAE-based Flydubai.
A Gulf diplomat noted that his hiring checks focused largely on criminal history rather than radicalization screening. Following the attack, social media accounts linked to al-Hammami posted images of al-Qaida figures, including Ayman al-Zawahiri and 2009 CIA base suicide bomber Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi.
Israel’s transportation ministry acknowledged that it does not conduct background checks on foreign pilots flying into the country. A ministry representative explained that the agency relies on signed declarations from foreign carriers and lacks intelligence-gathering capabilities abroad, stating that security vetting is outsourced entirely to airlines.
Flight Diverts to Saudi Arabia
The aircraft was diverted to Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia after two reserve pilots who happened to be on board took over controls. The plane landed safely at 6:58 local time on Wednesday morning.
Captain Machchhar was hospitalized in Tabuk before being airlifted to Abu Dhabi for further treatment, where officials confirmed he was in stable condition. Passengers remained at Tabuk Airport for approximately eight hours.
Israeli authorities attempted to secure permission for an Israeli aircraft to fly to Saudi Arabia to repatriate the travelers, but that request was rejected. All 174 passengers, including 27 children, eventually returned to Israel aboard a separate Flydubai aircraft later that day, though many passengers expressed deep anxiety until receiving direct clearance reassurances from the Mossad.
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