Indian pilot helps avert disaster
The pilot was reportedly stabbed as Israeli officials said the co-pilot allegedly tried to crash the aircraft
An Indian pilot of a Tel Aviv-bound flight was stabbed by the aircraft’s co-pilot on Wednesday after the latter allegedly tried to crash the plane, Israeli officials said. The confrontation triggered fears of a possible hijacking, prompting an emergency diversion to Saudi Arabia.
Captain Smit Machchhar, flying a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was reportedly attacked inside the cockpit after his Omani co-pilot allegedly attempted to interfere with the aircraft’s controls or systems. The captain is said to have resisted the attack despite sustaining stab wounds during the struggle.
The aircraft, carrying 180 passengers and crew, issued an emergency alert and underwent a sudden descent. Flight-tracking data reportedly showed the aircraft losing about 16,000 feet in roughly one minute before changing course and entering Saudi Arabian airspace. The aircraft was subsequently diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where it made an emergency landing.
Accounts cited by Israeli media said other crew members and passengers became aware of the confrontation and helped subdue the co-pilot and secure the cockpit. The intervention allowed the aircraft to continue safely toward its emergency landing.
Captain Machchhar was reportedly left injured and covered in blood following the altercation. Images circulating in Israeli media purportedly show passengers and crew members assisting him after the aircraft landed. The authenticity and provenance of those images have not been independently verified.
Both pilots were reportedly taken to hospital in Tabuk following the emergency landing.
The incident initially raised fears that the aircraft had been hijacked. Israeli authorities reportedly scrambled fighter jets as a precaution while security officials sought to determine what was happening aboard the flight.
Israeli officials have reportedly described the incident as a possible terror-related event. However, the circumstances surrounding the confrontation, including the co-pilot’s intentions and motive, remain unconfirmed.
Authorities are expected to examine cockpit recordings, flight-data records and witness accounts as part of the investigation. The precise sequence of events inside the cockpit has not yet been publicly established.
The incident has also created difficulties for passengers stranded in Tabuk. FlyDubai has reportedly arranged alternative flights to transport passengers onward to Tel Aviv, while some Israeli passengers have expressed reluctance to continue their journey on another commercial flight and have sought an Israeli-operated evacuation.
The episode remains under investigation, with Captain Machchhar’s reported actions forming a central part of accounts of how the cockpit confrontation was brought under control. Authorities have yet to release a definitive account of what happened aboard the flight or establish the motive behind the alleged attack.
