JERUSALEM — A FlyDubai co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to crash a passenger jet bound for Israel this week, in an incident Israeli officials said on Wednesday could have been an attempted “terror attack,” and which U.S. President Donald Trump warned could draw a harsh response against Iran if Tehran was behind it.
FlyDubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying 174 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, diverted safely to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after a violent confrontation in the cockpit at more than 30,000 feet, according to Reuters and the Associated Press. Flight-tracking data cited by Reuters showed the plane descended nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before the cockpit issued emergency distress codes, including the hijacking signal “7500.”
Three Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters, told Reuters the co-pilot is believed to have stabbed the captain during the confrontation and identified the alleged attacker as an Omani national. They said Israel’s current assessment is that the incident was an attempted “terror attack” and was not related to a mental health issue with either pilot. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said most of the people aboard were from Israel, with others from India and the United Arab Emirates; the U.S. State Department said four passengers held American citizenship.
Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national praised as a hero by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was seriously injured but managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to enter and restrain the attacker, according to Israeli officials. Two off-duty FlyDubai pilots who were aboard the aircraft then helped regain control and land the plane in Tabuk, where both pilots were hospitalized. Netanyahu said the alleged assailant was arrested and that all passengers were out of harm’s way.
Trump said on Thursday that Iran would be hit “very hard” if it was behind the incident, describing the co-pilot as seeming “perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job.” Netanyahu said Israel received no specific warning despite heightened security threats ahead of next week’s anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Omani authorities had not commented as of Thursday. The motive remains unknown and is under formal investigation, according to Reuters.
