Home · World · Oct 2 archive
Flydubai Captain Opens Cockpit Door After Being Stabbed by Co-Pilot
Confirmed
In Short: By opening the cockpit door, Machchhar enabled several Israeli passengers to burst in and overpower the copilot. Two other Flydubai pilots on board then took over the controls and landed the plane in Saudi Arabia.
Captain Smit Machchhar of Flydubai recounted the harrowing moments when he was attacked by his co-pilot during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, telling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he knew he had to act to save the passengers aboard the plane.
Machchhar, who has been flying for 17 years and had been a captain for 11 years, managed to open the cockpit door despite multiple stab wounds, allowing passengers and crew members to intervene.
The flight plunged more than 17,000 feet (5,200 meters) two and a half hours into its journey. Machchhar said he realized the aircraft was rapidly losing altitude while he was on the cockpit floor.
The Boeing 737 flight was carrying 174 passengers, almost all of them Israelis, when Machchhar’s Omani co-pilot stabbed him in an apparent attempt to crash the plane.
What's confirmed
- “When I was lying on the floor, I could feel that the aircraft was plunging and I said to myself while I was getting beaten, ‘This is the last push, Smit, do it, the door is right there,’” Machchhar said.
What's still developing
- “Somehow, I opened the door, and everyone came in and everyone else had an equal role in the rescue,” he said.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later told the media that one pilot had stabbed the other before "apparently trying to crash" the plane.
- Video Watch: Endangered moths swarming Australia's east coast Ferguson on being 'terrified' by brain haemorrhage and 'fantastic' return to Man Utd Farming award joy for teen inspired by late grandad A new group of celebrities have entered the castle How to change your diet if you are taking weight-loss drugs Get your dancing shoes ready for Movie Week Drs Chris and Xand explore the impacts of having ADHD 'I was not going to let others die' - pilot of Flydubai flight describes cockpit attack by co-pilot Olivia Dean accused of copying Bill Withers' Just The Two of Us Christa Pike in critical condition after surviving two lethal injections, lawyer says No more cereal at the end of the aisle?
- The co-pilot of FlyDubai flight 1073, who has not been identified by authorities, was transferred Thursday from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates for questioning by Israeli, UAE and Saudi officials, an Israeli official confirmed to CBS News on Friday.
- President Trump on Thursday suggested the co-pilot was linked to Iran, going further than Netanyahu, who had said it was still "too early to say" if Iran could have been involved.
- Updated on: October 2, 2026 / 7:23 AM EDT / CBS News The FlyDubai captain attacked by his co-pilot on a Wednesday flight to Israel says his faith gave him the courage to seize what he believed to be a last chance to save himself and the 173 other people on board the plane.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the man stabbed the pilot and "apparently attempted to crash the plane with everyone on board." Saudi officials said Wednesday that the co-pilot was hospitalized after the incident and treated for unspecified injuries.
- ‘I was not going to let others die’ Machchhar told Modi that he was still being attacked when he realised he had to act.“I was lying on the floor injured, but I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside,” he said.
- “I was trying to save my own life, but I knew I was not going to let others die,” Machchhar said during a call from his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, in a 10-minute video posted by Modi to social media on Friday.
- “I have been flying planes for 17 years and serving as a captain for the last 11 years. I can sense exactly what is happening with the aircraft even with my eyes closed. When I was down, I could feel that the aircraft was plummeting,” he said.
- Indian PM Narendra Modi video calls Captain Smit Machchhar, praised his courage, composure; Says the country is praying for him after he risked his life to save others.
- By opening the cockpit door, Captain Smit Machchhar enabled several Israeli passengers to burst in and overcome and immobilize the copilot.