Hijacking attempt thwarted

Pilot: I fought for my life – and everyone else's

Pilot Smit Machchhar realized the plane was about to crash when he was attacked by his co-pilot during a flight to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

"I fought for my life, but at the same time, I knew I couldn't let everyone else die either," he says in his first public statement.

Machchhar describes how he ended up on the cockpit floor but managed to get back up and open the door to the passenger cabin; passengers then rushed to his aid.

The co-pilot is believed to have launched the attack in an attempt to hijack the plane, though the motive remains unclear. 

Hijacking attempt thwarted — the facts

• A Flydubai flight en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv was forced to turn back on September 30, 2026.
• Captain Smit Machchhar was attacked by his co-pilot but managed to open the cockpit door despite his injuries. Passengers were then able to intervene and overpower the co-pilot. 
• All 174 people on board survived. The captain is being treated for stab wounds, but his condition is reported to be stable. 
• The incident is being investigated as a suspected act of terrorism by several countries, though the motive remains unclear. The co-pilot is currently in custody in Saudi Arabia.