The United Arab Emirates has described the attack aboard a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv as an attempted terrorist attack, while investigators examine the suspect’s background, alleged extremist views and how he was able to work as a co-pilot despite previously being barred from flying in Oman.
The incident occurred on September 30 aboard flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 carrying 174 passengers. The aircraft was travelling over Saudi Arabia when the co-pilot allegedly attacked the Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, with a knife. According to accounts from the pilot and passengers, Machchhar, despite suffering serious injuries, managed to open the cockpit door. Several passengers then entered the cockpit and overpowered the attacker, allowing the aircraft to be diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Janiv Hajun, one of the passengers who intervened, later told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he had grabbed the attacker and pulled him from the cockpit. Another passenger, Assaf Rajuan, told CNN that the injured pilot was unable to speak and had been sitting collapsed with his hands raised. The passengers restrained the co-pilot using headphone cables. Two other Flydubai pilots happened to be travelling on the aircraft and were able to take control of the plane and prevent a crash.
Netanyahu said the pilots and passengers had prevented a catastrophe comparable to the September 11 attacks. After the aircraft landed in Israel, he met some of the passengers, thanking them and the injured captain. The 174 passengers arrived at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport later that day, where relatives and media gathered to meet them.
The UAE’s Prosecutor General, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, said the detained co-pilot had planned a terrorist attack. Emirati authorities are investigating the circumstances and motive and examining physical and digital evidence. The suspect, identified in reports as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, has since been taken to the UAE and is reportedly cooperating with investigators.
Reports by CNN, ABC News and the Wall Street Journal say the suspect had previously been identified as a security risk by Oman Air and had been suspended or barred from flying because of concerns over extremist views. ABC News reported that extremist material was allegedly found in his possession in 2024, when he was training as a co-pilot at Oman Air. The Wall Street Journal reported that he was subsequently allowed to continue working for the airline in an administrative capacity. Investigators are examining how he later obtained a position with Flydubai despite the earlier flight ban.
Israeli authorities have described the incident as jihadist terrorism. Netanyahu said the suspect had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”, while UAE officials have also used the term terrorism. According to ABC News, investigators are examining claims that the suspect intended to crash the aircraft in Israel. Those allegations remain part of an ongoing investigation, while Flydubai has urged people to avoid premature speculation until authorities establish the facts.
Flydubai said it would suspend flights to Tel Aviv while the investigation continued. The route, established in 2021 as part of the diplomatic opening associated with the Abraham Accords, was replaced by flights operated by Israel’s El Al to return stranded passengers from Dubai.
