Am Yisrael Chai, Captain Smit
On 30-9, the world was rocked by the unbelievable scenes of courage, bravery and singular heroism of the pilot and passengers of flydubai FZ-1073 on 30 September 2026, as they staved off an attempt by an Omani co-pilot to crash the aircraft or, as some allege, perform a 9/11-type attack on Israel
The bravery of Captain Smit Machchhar, as he was being hacked by his second-in-command, has passed into global aviation folklore that even seasoned pilots and aviation professionals may never be able to comprehend. To be brutally attacked and stabbed with the aircraft crash axe (the actual details are still sketchy), and then turn on the transponders to 7700 and again to 7500 to warn the external world, speaks of a clarity of mind and singular purpose by Captain Smit that is unthinkable. In moments of personal danger, where the only eventuality is a certain death, human beings draw on their reservoirs of courage to do what the captain did, and crawled to the cockpit door to unlock it, even as the first officer kept denying access to outside crew using the emergency code.
Further actions of Tali and Nina Manes, warning the passengers of what was happening in the cockpit, the quick-fire response of Yaniv Hayoun, and the actions of the two reserve pilots, without a doubt, saved the lives of 174 passengers that day.
The flight radar data has shocked the world of aviation. How could a 737 descend that rapidly without breaking up or suffering major critical damage? The pressure exerted by the “almost freefall” was many Gs more than the aircraft could withstand. Yet we saw how it landed, battered and bruised. The apparent act of the Israeli plumber Yaniv Hayoun, of pulling the yoke back and stabilising the aircraft, is out of an adventure story, but we know it happened. People question, how come none of the passengers suffered the injuries that we saw in the Air India Phuket flight or last year’s Singapore Airlines flight? Was the fact that they were all buckled in, entering sterile Israeli airspace, the reason? We may never know, but let’s wait for the reports to emerge, or was the descent not as sharp as imagined?
Was this a false-flag operation? Only a naïve conspiracy theorist would believe that. This was a valiant rescue by a bunch of unlikely heroes. I have spoken to my Indian pilot friends who fly with flydubai, and they are as shaken up by this, and proud of Captain Smit, as all of us are. It is a rescue effort beyond all imagination, just in the same way the heroes of United Flight 93 on 9/11 fought back.
Is this kind of a rescue and recovery possible in normal circumstances? No, not at all. It’s unthinkable. Even if it was simulated 100 times, it would fail 99/100 times, but it worked this one time and they are all alive to tell the tale. It tells of the courage and fortitude of brave human beings in dangerous circumstances.
Sometimes it takes many miracles to save the day. This was one such day. If even one of the people in this chain of events had not acted as they did, we would have mourned our dead today. So rather than question, let us celebrate them all.
The co-pilot assassin
Details have emerged that the co-pilot, Hammam Al-Hammami, was part Syrian and part Omani, and was asked to leave Oman Air due to questionable behaviour. There are indications emerging that he was radicalised, and some officials in the UAE are also being investigated. If he was removed from Oman Air for these reasons, then how did he find employment in flydubai? And that too, flying into Israel?
What went wrong?
As much as I admire and love Israel and its people, and shall always, they will be the first to stand up and analyse what exactly went wrong and single out the faults in their system that were exposed by this Omani co-pilot, that almost caused the biggest act of aviation terror since 9/11.
Prima facie, it appears to be a:
1. Failure of APIS to track the system intruder.
2. Apparent lack of pre-advance intelligence of such a threat.
3. Breach of bilateral ASAs post the Abraham Accords.
4. Failure of flydubai to have screened its pilots properly.
The US first created APIS in 1989, but it was never made mandatory until 9/11. Under APIS, all airlines forward detailed passenger and crew lists with passport numbers, visa numbers and details of travellers (crew and passengers) at least 24 hours in advance to be scrutinised by the Department of Homeland Security. Israel is one such nation that follows the API system, and the NCPIA hub tracks all incoming passengers and crew. So how did the Israeli NCPIA miss the warning signs of Captain Hammami? This will be investigated deep and hard, especially in light of his past record at Oman Air.
There was apparently no known advance intelligence of such a plot or chatter on the networks, despite Israel and the USA being at war with Iran. Guards seem to have been lowered post the Abraham Accords, and I have a sense that there will be a thorough re-evaluation of the system.
Post the Abraham Accords, the APIS stipulations are clear: crew belonging to any nation that refuses to recognise Israel, or that treats Israel as an enemy, are barred from flying into Israeli airspace, namely Oman, Syria and Iran. How did Hammami escape the dragnet despite having both Omani and Syrian connections?
The Future
Aviation changed inexorably post 9/11 and reinforced steel doors, cockpit and crew protocols came into being, and APIS became an advanced screening tool. In the early days post 9/11, I recall days and flights when pilots with Muslim names were being delayed clearance by Homeland Security or extensive security backgrounds were sought.
So what does 30-9 flydubai hold for us?
For one, we can expect detailed background checks of aviation personnel and pre-authorisation APIS to become stricter, maybe even a restrictive list of pre-qualified pilots to enter Israeli territory from Arab nations.
For the larger aviation world, a similar protocol would not be amiss, since we seem to have lowered our guard. I expect Shin Bet and Mossad and the NCPIA to have greater coordination with Arab, US and Indian intelligence networks and Homeland Security to screen crew and travellers. The threat is real, a 9/11 or a 30-9 can happen any time again.
The dreaded CCTV (closed-circuit cockpit cameras) may come into the larger global discussion once more to ensure that there is some modicum of protocols adhered to and a recording of what transpired.
I also believe that Israel will demand more flights bring in sky marshals, and security around flights departing for TLV will have heightened security.
The cockpit safety equipment (crash axe) is normally shielded and protected, so there will be a conversation about the use and need for it and how to secure it. Whilst airlines would love to reduce cockpit crew to one if they could, due to commercial considerations, in my view, there must now be a discussion of having an observer or a third occupant in the cockpit to safeguard the situation, especially when flying on sensitive routes.
The regulators and politicians around the world, especially India, must learn and accept that pilots are the reason that we land and take off safely each day around the world. We need to stop treating them like punching bags. India has the worst working conditions for pilots on earth, and yet it was an Indian pilot (who had escaped Indian aviation bureaucracy) who has made India and pilots, and indeed all aviation crew all over the world, intensely proud.
In the end, aviation is still the safest mode of travel on earth, and pilots are the most misunderstood professionals. India and Israel are two ancient civilisations bound by blood and brotherhood. Thank you, Captain Smit Machchhar, Tali and Nina Manes, Yaniv and the two unnamed relief pilots. You made us believe in miracles again.
Am Yisrael Chai, Jai Hind.
The writer is an aviation expert, lawyer & author who writes on aviation, terrorism, international relations, leadership and law. He has spent 40 years in aviation and lost his entire family in the Air India Kanishka bombing in 1985; Views presented are personal.
