Passengers and crew subdue pilot after cockpit attack on FlyDubai flight
publishers 42articles 46first reported 1 Oct, 01:09 UTCdeveloping since 1 Oct · 2 editionstop 25 #21
A FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to crash the Boeing 737, according to Israeli officials and multiple news reports.
The aircraft, carrying 174 people, descended sharply before passengers and crew entered the cockpit and subdued the alleged attacker. Israel scrambled warplanes amid concerns about a possible hijacking. Saudi authorities detained the pilot after the plane landed.
The wounded captain was identified as Smit Machchhar, an Indian national who joined FlyDubai in 2022 after working for SpiceJet. He was taken to a hospital in Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The Indian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates said he was in good health and recovering.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credited Machchhar with saving the lives of those aboard and preventing a midair disaster. Netanyahu also said the co-pilot was Omani and had undergone Islamic radicalization; no further evidence for that assertion was detailed in the reports.
The passengers later continued to Israel on another flight, arriving Wednesday evening to cheers from onlookers.
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