“During the flight, as they approached Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other and apparently attempted to crash the plane with the passengers on board.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this in a video message when speaking about the attempted hijacking of Flydubai flight FZ1073 which departed from Dubai and was headed to Tel Aviv with 180 Israeli passengers on board.
The attack occurred while the aircraft was at high altitude, before plummeting to over 17,000 feet. According to what has been reconstructed, the co-pilot stabbed commander Smit Machchhar, perhaps with the aim of carrying out a massacre. Despite his serious injuries, Machchhar managed to open the cabin, allowing some passengers and crew members to break inside, immobilize the attacker and stabilize the aircraft before emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
עדכון חשוב בעקבות האירוע הביטחוני החמור היום >> pic.twitter.com/Hw2mxTDPjM
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 30, 2026
“I spoke to one of the Israeli passengers” explained the Israeli prime minister. “He told me that the plane went into a spiral and began to nosedive. He told me that, one way or another, he managed to break into the cockpit together with one of the crew members, and that together they neutralized the pilot who he had stabbed while trying to sabotage the plane’s systems. Another flight crew member on board entered the cockpit and managed to stabilize the plane.”
The commander of the plane
The passengers “are all out of danger” Netanyahu explained, stating that the pilot who stabbed his colleague “has been arrested and is currently being interrogated by the Saudi authorities”. The plane landed at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia after two pilots in civilian clothes on board the flight reportedly took control of it.
The prime minister defined the Indian pilot Smit Machchhar as “a true hero” for “his extraordinary courage”.
My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery.
Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 30, 2026
“Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he reacted, defended himself, opened the cockpit door and allowed the passengers and crew to overpower the attacker, avoiding a catastrophic in-flight disaster. He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationalities,” Netanyahu explained.
Machchhar’s act of heroism was also praised by the Indian media and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Captain Smit Machchhar is a HERO,” he wrote on
Originally from Mumbai, Machchhar is admitted to a hospital in the northwestern city of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where he underwent surgery. His condition was said to be stable. According to his Linkedin profile, before joining FlyDubai he had worked for the Indian airline SpiceJet for over 11 years.
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 valor helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy.
India is proud of…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 1, 2026
The passenger who first intervened in the cockpit
But in the history of the Flydubai flight there are also other heroes. Among these is an Israeli plumber, Yaniv Hayun, who met Netanyahu at Ben Gurion airport and told him the dynamics of what happened. The Israeli prime minister explained that the plumber “managed to enter the cockpit” and “grabbed” the attacker from behind, pulling him back; then he put himself in the pilot’s seat and pulled the control stick back”, while other people on board immobilized the co-pilot.
“When I entered I saw the terrorist who was at the controls – explained the man -, between the two seats, there were no pilots sitting, I grabbed the terrorist, blocked him and started dragging him out”. Asked by Netanyahu what the alleged attacker was doing, Hayun replied: “He was trying to destroy the controls to make the plane unusable.”
יניב, אתה גיבור אמיתי. אנחנו עם של אריות! pic.twitter.com/55AgmAvzIG
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 30, 2026
The testimony of another passenger who intervened to block the attacker: “Like in a movie”
A total of 3 passengers intervened after the attack on the Indian commander. Among these is Assaf Rajwan who spoke of “a film-like experience”. According to Rajwan, the passengers intervened after hearing screams coming from the cockpit. “I didn’t think something like this could happen in real life,” he told the media.
Asaf Rejwan was one of the Israelis who stepped in and helped take control of the cockpit after the pilot stabbed his colleague.
Today, he’s simply grateful to be home. 🇮🇱❤️ pic.twitter.com/cnjRw1V1NG
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 30, 2026
“We held the terrorist down for 55 minutes,” he added, “and landed safely.” It took about 20-25 minutes to immobilize the hijacker. The man was then tied up using a headphone cord. According to flight tracking data, the plane plummeted 17,400 feet in less than two minutes. Hayun pulled back on the yoke, causing the plane to regain altitude, until other crew members regained control of the situation.
The commander attacked with an axe? The hypothesis of another September 11th
According to Netanyahu, the attacker may have hit the commander with an axe. Airlines are generally required to keep emergency axes on board for use in the cockpit to break windows and escape in extreme risk situations. The motive for the attack is still to be clarified, but the theory of terrorism – suggested by the Israeli prime minister himself – is the most plausible. Netanyahu said the passengers and the captain “managed to prevent a catastrophe like 9/11.”
Trump: “Maybe he was a madman, maybe a terrorist”
As for Donald Trump, he said the co-pilot “maybe was a terrorist or maybe a madman.” According to Israeli sources, the hijacker of the plane was a citizen of Oman, a country that does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. The pilot accused of the attempted massacre is now being interrogated by Saudi authorities.
Netanyahu expects him to soon be transferred to the United Arab Emirates, where the flight took off from. The Israeli Foreign Ministry instead defined the incident as an “attempted terrorist attack against Israelis, the United Arab Emirates and the Abraham Accords”, referring to the agreement that normalized relations between the two countries in 2020. Flydubai said in a statement that the causes of what happened remain unknown and warned against “premature speculation”.