Copilot attacks captain on flydubai flight, passengers subdue him and land safely
A flydubai flight from Dubai to Saudi Arabia was hijacked by its copilot, who injured the captain; passengers broke into the cockpit, restrained the attacker and the aircraft landed safely in Tabuk.
Flydubai flight 1073 departed Dubai with over 170 passengers, predominantly Israeli, and entered Saudi airspace at 0521 GMT when the copilot attacked the captain, inflicting injuries and triggering two sudden dives that dropped the aircraft more than 16,000 feet in roughly 30 seconds. The wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door, enabling passengers to rush in; they restrained the copilot, tying him with earphone cables, and one passenger, citing experience from an air-crash TV show, helped steady the plane.
Two off-duty flydubai pilots then assumed the controls and executed a safe landing in Tabuk. Video footage shows blood on cabin walls and the restrained attacker. The captain and copilot received medical treatment, and the UAE, with Saudi security assistance, has opened a formal investigation while Israeli officials note the copilot is an Omani national and have not identified a motive.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the critical role of passenger intervention in averting disaster and raises concerns about airline crew vetting.
How this story developed
- Sep 30 Netanyahu hails Indian pilot who thwarted alleged flydubai sabotage
- Oct 1 U.S. President Donald Trump publicly praised the Indian pilot.
- Oct 1 Netanyahu said Saudi Arabia arrested one of the pilots who allegedly tried to crash a FlyDubai flight.
- Oct 1 Israel’s transport minister ordered a six‑day suspension of Flydubai flights to Israel and Emirates halted code‑share operations on those routes.
- Oct 1 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the second pilot who stabbed the captain on a Fly Dubai flight had undergone Islamist radicalisation.
- Oct 1 El Al, Israir and Arkia have asked Israeli security officials to allow them to resume scheduled flights to Dubai following a violent incident on a flydubai plane.
- Oct 1 The Saudi interior ministry said its initial probe indicates the co-pilot on the Dubai‑to‑Tel Aviv flight assaulted the captain.
- Oct 1 A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was forced to land in Tabuk after the co-pilot assaulted the captain, injuring both crew members.
- Oct 2 The suspect was transferred to United Arab Emirates authorities.
- Oct 2 A UAE official called the mid-air incident on flydubai flight FZ1073 a terrorist act and praised Indian pilot Smit Machchhar for safely landing the aircraft after a co-pilot attack.
- Oct 2 Modi praised Machchhar for averting disaster.
- Oct 2 Saudi Arabia declined Israel’s request to use military aircraft to retrieve its passengers from Tabuk.
- Oct 2 Israeli carriers have formally requested clearance to restart Dubai routes.
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