Flydubai Suspends Israel Flights After FZ1073 Cockpit Stabbing
UAE and Saudi investigators probe the cockpit incident as injured Indian captain Smit Machchhar is hailed a hero.
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File photo: a flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 (A6-FMN) takes off from Pisa airport, Italy, in June 2024. The aircraft shown is not known to be the one involved in the FZ1073 incident. Photo: Marcxosm, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Flydubai has suspended all flights to and from Israel while investigators in the UAE and Saudi Arabia look into what happened inside the cockpit of flight FZ1073. The Tel Aviv-bound jet diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after what the airline called an altercation on the flight deck, and both pilots were taken to hospital with injuries, according to Tabuk airport. Israeli officials say one pilot stabbed the other. The injured captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, has been praised as a hero by the leaders of India and Israel. The motive is not known.
The Dubai-based carrier said the suspension was decided “in coordination with the relevant authorities” and will stay in place while the investigation continues. “The safety and wellbeing of our passengers, crew and operations remain our highest priority,” the airline said, adding that the temporary suspension would allow the authorities to “establish all the facts surrounding the incident.” Flydubai also urged “all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts.”
What happened on board
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 left Dubai International at 07:05 local time on 30 September, bound for Ben Gurion Airport, Gulf News and the BBC reported. About two and a half hours later, over Saudi Arabia, flight-tracking data showed the aircraft making a rapid descent. Its transponder first transmitted the general emergency code 7700 and later switched to 7500, which indicates unlawful interference, according to Flightradar24.
Flydubai has confirmed only that “an altercation occurred in the flight deck.” The airline said the aircraft was secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed it safely at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk. “All passengers are safe and accounted for,” the airline said. Tabuk airport said the captain and the first officer were injured and taken to hospital.
The most detailed account so far has come from Israeli officials. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot stabbed the other before apparently trying to crash the aircraft, and that an Israeli passenger and a crew member broke into the cockpit and overpowered the pilot he said had carried out the stabbing, the BBC reported. Defence Minister Israel Katz called the incident an “attempted jihadist terror attack,” Al Jazeera reported. Netanyahu later told Fox News it was “too early to say” whether Iran was involved. Flydubai, the UAE’s civil aviation regulator and UAE judicial authorities have not confirmed the Israeli account, and no official finding on a motive has been published, Gulf News reported.
Netanyahu said the captain saved the lives of 174 people. The BBC reported that at least 150 people were on board, almost all of them Israeli according to Netanyahu.
The captain who opened the door
Machchhar grew up in Mumbai, trained as a pilot at Mainland Air in Dunedin, New Zealand, flew for India’s SpiceJet and joined flydubai in 2022, the BBC reported. He is in a stable condition in a hospital in Tabuk, the Indian embassy in Riyadh said.
Leaders in several countries have praised him. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the captain “showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others” despite being seriously injured. Netanyahu called him “a true hero” who “saved the lives of 174 people.” US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that “the pilot was in very bad shape” but had managed to open the cockpit door, the BBC reported. SpiceJet, his former employer, said he had saved “countless lives.”
The investigations
The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said its investigators, working with the relevant authorities, are examining the operational and security aspects of the incident. Separately, UAE Attorney General Hamad Al Shamsi ordered a team from the Public Prosecution to investigate the circumstances and causes, according to the UAE foreign ministry. Saudi Arabia’s National Transport Safety Center said it had opened a safety investigation and was gathering information and evidence. Netanyahu said Saudi authorities were questioning the pilot accused of the stabbing. That pilot has not been named by the authorities, and no official body has announced a motive.
Why it matters
Flydubai has flown between Dubai and Tel Aviv since November 2020, after the UAE and Israel normalised ties, so the suspension halts a well-used route between the two countries. Emirates has also suspended its codeshare operations with flydubai to and from Tel Aviv until further notice, Gulf News reported.
What comes next
Flydubai has not said when Israel flights will resume. It says it will review the suspension as more information becomes available, in coordination with government authorities, regulators and airport partners. Passengers booked on affected routes should check with the airline about alternative arrangements. The next milestone will be any preliminary findings from the UAE or Saudi investigators.
