A Flydubai aircraft, with at least 180 commuters onboard, departed from Dubai for Tel Aviv at 6:05am (local time) on September 30, 2026. However, a disturbance suddenly broke out in the cockpit at an altitude of 34,000 feet as the two pilots got involved in a brawl, triggering a major international security scare and forcing the Flydubai Flight FZ1073 – a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft – to make an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. The co-pilot (from Oman) allegedly stabbed Smit Machchhar, the Indian-origin Captain, with a pocket knife and also made an attempt to throw the latter off the aircraft. Passengers claimed that the accused pilot, who was arrested later, tried to hijack the plane.

As expected, panic spread among passengers following the bloody altercation between two pilots in the cockpit at an altitude of 34,000 feet. According to a report by The Times of Israel, off-duty airline crewmembers and passengers, including several Israeli nationals, stormed the cockpit to restrain the attacker and help secure the aircraft after hearing screams. The crew also transmitted Transponder Code 7700 (general emergency) followed briefly by Code 7500 (hijacking/unlawful interference) at 8:31am. In response to the hijacking alert, both Israel and Saudi Arabia scrambled fighter jets as a security precaution. During the violent struggle, the aircraft went into a sudden, steep dive, plummeting over 14,000 feet in roughly two minutes at 8:20am before the control was successfully regained.

Reports suggest that the passengers were saved as there were a few pilots among them. They somehow managed to overpower the attacker and save the plane. Now, both pilots are undergoing treatment in a Saudi hospital. Eyewitnesses claimed that the aircraft had completely spiralled out of control in mid-air and could have crashed at any moment.

Upon her safe arrival at the Saudi airport at 9:54am, a female passenger told the press: “We heard screams on the plane. We opened the cockpit and saw blood inside. Someone had stabbed the pilot with a pocket knife.” She stressed: “There were also moments when we thought we weren’t going to make it out alive. We prayed ‘Shema Yisrael‘ during the ordeal.“

Amidst the struggle between the two, the attacking co-pilot reportedly attempted to crash the plane, while the captain tried to thwart it. Later, passengers and off-duty crewmembers subdued the co-pilot after he allegedly stabbed the Indian Captain mid-air. Citing a passenger, the Israeli media reported that the Omani co-pilot became aggressive and was threatening to crash the plane. He also threatened to commit suicide.

The emergency message received from the aircraft initially created the impression that it had been hijacked. Later, the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that the diversion of Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was not a traditional hijacking incident, but rather stemmed from a violent physical altercation inside the cockpit between the pilot and the co-pilot.

Meanwhile, concerned authorities in Israel and the UAE have started investigating the case as a potential terrorist act, targeting the passengers onboard. Flydubai deployed a replacement aircraft to transport the remaining 174 passengers safely onward.

Meanwhile,

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das