Flydubai co-pilot attacked captain with axe, UAE official says

A Flydubai aircraft bound for Tel Aviv from Dubai was hijacked when the co‑pilot, identified by several outlets as Hamam al‑Hammami, attacked the captain with a crash axe stored in the cockpit. The assault caused the plane, carrying more than 170 passengers, to plunge about 17,000 feet roughly two and a half hours after take‑off, prompting the crew to broadcast a general emergency followed by a hijack code. Captain Smit Machchhar, injured and lying on the floor, managed to open the cockpit door from inside, allowing an Israeli woman passenger, Tali Manes, and four men – her husband Zvika and three other passengers – to enter. The intruder was subdued after a passenger placed him in a chokehold and pulled him out of the cockpit, while other passengers helped restrain him. Two reserve pilots subsequently took control and landed the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia. The injured captain was taken to a nearby hospital, then airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where he remains in stable condition; the Indian pilot who was stabbed is reported to be recovering well, according to the Indian embassy.

Investigators say the incident was a “terrorist act,” with the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, confirming an ongoing probe into the motives and any possible links. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attacker as having undergone Islamist radical indoctrination and suggested a suicidal intent to down the plane. Earlier reports indicated the co‑pilot, an Omani national, had been removed from flight training at Oman Air over concerns about radical views before being reassigned within the airline. He later completed a three‑year distance‑learning aviation management degree at Buckinghamshire New University in the United Kingdom, though the university clarified that he did not receive pilot training there. Initial passenger accounts had misidentified the weapon as a knife, but the prosecutor’s statement confirmed it was a crash axe, a tool typically kept in cockpits for emergencies, raising questions about security protocols on such a sensitive route.

The episode has sparked a broader discussion about cockpit security and the vetting of airline personnel, especially on flights to conflict‑adjacent destinations. Israeli President Isaac Herzog praised the quick actions of the passengers, noting that an Israeli woman’s alarm triggered the intervention that prevented a potential disaster. Netanyahu likened the thwarted attack to averting a “9/11 disaster,” emphasizing the gravity of the situation. The UAE’s ongoing investigation aims to determine the full circumstances, including any external influences or networks that may have motivated the co‑pilot. Meanwhile, airlines and regulators are likely to review cockpit access policies and background‑check procedures to mitigate the risk of similar insider threats in the future.

⚡ Effects Interpreter