NIA registers FIR to probe conspiracy in Flydubai cockpit attack
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered a First Information Report under Section 3 of the Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016, and Sections 16, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) to investigate the mid-air attack on Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
The FIR, filed on the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, names the Omani first officer as the accused. It invokes provisions covering hijacking, terrorist acts, conspiracy and membership of a terrorist organisation. Officials said the agency will examine possible lone-wolf terror motives, radicalisation networks, the manner in which the plot was planned, and any wider conspiracy, including links that could point to an intended attack involving India.
Flydubai Flight FZ1073 departed Dubai International Airport at 7:05 am Gulf Standard Time on September 30, carrying 174 passengers, mostly Israelis, and six crew members. Captain Machchhar, an Indian national with more than a decade of commercial flying experience, was at the controls with the Omani first officer. Approximately two-and-a-half hours into the journey, near the Jordan-Saudi Arabia border, the first officer attacked the captain inside the locked cockpit, inflicting deep cuts to his head and hands.
Passengers later reported that the assault appeared to be an attempt to seize control of the Boeing 737 or deliberately crash the aircraft. The jet plunged more than 17,000 feet in under two minutes, briefly sending emergency codes, including the hijack squawk 7500. Despite severe injuries and while still under attack on the cockpit floor, Captain Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door. Passengers and cabin crew rushed in, overpowered and restrained the first officer.
Two off-duty Flydubai pilots who were travelling as passengers took control and landed the aircraft safely at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia, around 10:45 am.
Saudi authorities arrested the first officer and later handed him over to UAE officials, who are still investigating the case. Reports name the accused as 29-year-old Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, also spelt Hammam al-Hammami.
Reports say Oman Air had earlier removed him from flying because of concerns about extremist material and radical views. Despite this, Flydubai later hired him and allowed him to fly the Dubai-Tel Aviv route. UAE officials have called the incident a terrorist act. Israeli authorities say there are signs of Islamist radical indoctrination and suicidal intent, and that the restrained first officer kept asking to be killed.
Captain Machchhar is in Dubai with serious injuries, but he is stable and recovering. During a video call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he described lying injured as the plane descended and making one last effort to open the door.
He said he was fighting for his life but would not let others die. Both Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised his actions for preventing a disaster.
The NIA can investigate this case under the National Investigation Agency Act because the victim is an Indian citizen and the offences are listed in the Act, even though the incident happened outside India.
“Investigators plan to request the cockpit voice recorder, flight data recorder, and the suspect’s electronic devices with help from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. They will also review the first officer’s background, digital activity, work history, and any links to radicalisation to determine whether the attack was planned and part of a larger network”, sources familiar with the probe said.
