Flydubai co-pilot attacked captain with axe, UAE official says
Flydubai Flight Diverted After Cockpit Attack Leaves Captain Injured
Constantvpn.com – A Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv was forced into an emergency descent after its co-pilot allegedly assaulted the captain with a crash axe and attempted to interfere with the aircraft’s controls.
The Dubai-to-Tel Aviv service was carrying more than 170 people when the incident unfolded about two and a half hours after departure from Dubai International Airport. The aircraft dropped roughly 17,000ft (5,200m) before passengers entered the cockpit, restrained the alleged attacker and helped prevent a potentially catastrophic outcome.
Two reserve pilots later brought the aircraft down safely in Saudi Arabia.
Captain opened the cockpit despite injuries
Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, was seriously injured during the confrontation. He has said that he was on the cockpit floor when he recognised that the aircraft was descending and realised he needed to act quickly.
I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside.
That effort enabled passengers to enter the cockpit. Machchhar was stabbed during the attack and was initially taken to a nearby hospital before being flown to Abu Dhabi. India’s embassy in the UAE said on Thursday that he was in good health and recovering well.
I am confident that the recovery will be there and I will become fit and healthy again.
The Indian government praised Machchhar for what it described as his immense courage during the emergency.
Emergency codes signalled escalating danger
As the crisis developed, the aircraft transmitted squawk 7700, the internationally recognised code for a general emergency. It subsequently changed to squawk 7500, a signal used to indicate unlawful interference, including a possible hijacking.
A passenger, Almog Itali, described a sudden and frightening change in the flight’s motion. He said the aircraft began falling with intense force, briefly steadied, and then dropped again.
Suddenly the aeroplane started to, like a rollercoaster, to drop down [with] a massive G-force. It was falling down for 20 or 30 seconds, rapidly, and then balanced, and then started once again to fall down.
He said people began rushing towards the cockpit as concern spread through the cabin. The episode underscored how quickly a disturbance in the flight deck can affect everyone aboard, particularly when an aircraft is travelling at cruising altitude.
Passengers intervened inside cockpit
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said an Israeli passenger, Tali Manes, raised the alarm after hearing a disturbance coming from the cockpit. Her husband, Zvika Manes, joined Yaniv Hayun, Dr Shota Musayev and Asaf Rajuan in entering the cockpit after Captain Machchhar managed to open the door.
Hayun said the co-pilot had been trying to damage the aircraft’s instruments. In video released by the Israeli prime minister’s office, he described using a chokehold to remove the man from the cockpit, after which other passengers helped hold him down.
The attacker was trying to destroy the instruments in order to disable the plane.
Hayun also said he pulled the aircraft’s controls as the plane began to stabilise. A pilot then took over the flight controls.
The plane started to level out, a bit more, and then [another] pilot told me he was taking control from there.
The presence of reserve pilots proved crucial after the captain was injured and the co-pilot was restrained. Their landing in Saudi Arabia ended the immediate airborne emergency.
Investigation examines motive and possible terrorism link
The UAE prosecutor general said the co-pilot used a crash axe during the attack. Such axes are normally kept in cockpits for emergency situations, including gaining access through obstructed panels or doors.
Investigators are examining the full circumstances of the incident and the alleged attacker’s motive. The UAE has opened an inquiry into whether the event had any terrorist connection or purpose.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the attacker as an Omani national. Several media organisations have named him as Hamam al-Hammami, although no official confirmation of that name has been issued.
Netanyahu said the man shouted “Kill me, kill me!” after being subdued. He said the circumstances suggested the co-pilot may have intended to bring down the aircraft and alleged that he had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination.
Reports from the United States have said that, during an earlier role at Oman Air, Al-Hammami was removed from flight training over concerns about radical views and reassigned within the carrier. He completed a three-year distance-learning aviation management degree at Buckinghamshire New University in 2023. The university said he did not receive pilot training there.
Averted disaster highlights importance of cockpit security
Netanyahu said the captain, passengers and remaining crew had prevented what he called a “9/11 disaster.” The incident has drawn attention to the importance of cockpit access controls, crew training, emergency communications and the ability of additional qualified pilots to take command when normal flight operations break down.
For those on board, the crisis moved rapidly from a sharp descent to a physical struggle in the cockpit. The actions of Captain Machchhar, the passengers who intervened, and the reserve pilots who completed the diversion ensured that the flight ended safely despite the attack.
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