Indian Pilot Blocks Axe Blows, Prevents Co-Pilot's Suicide Crash Over Israel

Captain Smit Machchhar of flydubai flight FZ1073 survived a violent cockpit attack on September 30 by Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, who wielded a crash axe in what UAE prosecutors determined was an attempted suicide attack intended to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. The attack occurred while the flight, carrying 174 passengers, was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv in Saudi airspace.

When the first blow struck, Machchhar initially believed something had failed structurally in the aircraft. He quickly realised he was under attack and acted immediately, freeing himself from his seatbelt and blocking strikes aimed at his head and body while screaming for help. His left arm was wounded as he defended himself and reached for the cockpit door control. The assault caused the aircraft to plunge approximately 4,900 metres (16,000 feet) in 30 seconds before he managed to open the cockpit door, allowing crew members and passengers to enter and overpower the attacker. A second pilot and a dentist who was aboard provided medical assistance to Machchhar, while other pilots regained control and diverted the flight to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.

In his first interview since the incident, conducted from an Abu Dhabi hospital weeks later, Machchhar recalled the moment he realised his life was at stake, saying: "There was a moment that I realised, and I told myself that, Smith, do something. You can't die like this." He described hearing the cockpit door open and the screaming as his colleagues intervened, and expressed particular gratitude to the colleague who took control of the aircraft. "It's something that I'll keep with me till I die," he said of his colleague's actions. When the cockpit door briefly opened and closed, Machchhar felt his strength draining and nearly lost consciousness before hearing the engines reduce power and sensing the aircraft's descent.

UAE public prosecutors concluded that al-Hammami had planned the attack as a suicide operation inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, with the intention to target the airport's passenger terminal. Al-Hammami claimed he acted alone, and investigators were verifying this assertion. Machchhar, recovering with bandages on his head and left arm, has been widely praised for his actions in preventing the catastrophe and has begun publicly recounting the traumatic experience in interviews with international media.