Flydubai co-pilot attacked captain with axe, UAE official says
Source: BBC World ↗ (cross-verified by 6 outlets — full list below)
A Flydubai aircraft bound for Tel Aviv from Dubai was hijacked when its 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 transmit a general emergency squawk followed by the hijack code. Captain Smit Machchhar, who was injured and lying on the floor, managed to open the cockpit door, allowing an Israeli woman, Tali Manes, her husband Zvika, and three other passengers to enter and subdue the attacker. After the assailant was restrained, two reserve pilots took over and safely landed the aircraft in Saudi Arabia. The injured captain was flown to a nearby hospital and then airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where he remains in stable condition, while the Indian pilot who was stabbed is reported to be recovering well.
Investigations by the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, describe the incident as a “terrorist act” and are probing the motives and any possible extremist links. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to Fox News, said the co‑pilot shouted “Kill me, kill me!” after being overpowered and suggested the attacker had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination, describing the episode as a likely suicide attempt to bring down the plane. Media reports note that al‑Hammami, an Omani national, previously worked for Oman Air and was removed from flight training over concerns about radical views before completing a distance‑learning aviation management degree at Buckinghamshire New University in 2023. Early passenger accounts had mistakenly reported a knife, but the UAE authorities confirmed the weapon was a crash axe, a standard emergency tool kept in cockpits.
The event has drawn international attention to cockpit security on high‑risk routes and raised questions about vetting procedures for airline crew. Israeli President Isaac Herzog highlighted the role of passenger Tali Manes in raising the alarm, while a video released by the prime minister’s office shows passenger Yaniv Hayun placing the attacker in a chokehold and pulling him from the cockpit before other passengers helped restrain him. Netanyahu praised the passengers, crew, and second pilots for averting what he called a “9/11 disaster.” The UAE’s ongoing inquiry aims to determine the full circumstances, potential extremist affiliations, and any systemic failures that allowed the co‑pilot to bring a weapon onto the flight, underscoring broader concerns about aviation safety in the region.
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🌍 Effects for your country
The U.S.'s central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The U.S.'s economy is growing at 2.3% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the U.S.'s own central bank rate closely. With the U.S.'s unemployment at 4.4%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the U.S. depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UK's central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UK's economy is growing at 0.8% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UK's own central bank rate closely. With the UK's unemployment at 5.6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UK depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
France's central bank rate currently stands at 2%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. France's economy is growing at 0.9% with inflation at 1.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track France's own central bank rate closely. With France's unemployment at 7.9%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is already under strain. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in France depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
Romania's central bank rate currently stands at 6.5%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. Romania's economy is growing at 0.7% with inflation at 7.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track Romania's own central bank rate closely. With Romania's unemployment at 6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in Romania depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UAE's central bank rate currently stands at 3.65%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UAE's economy is growing at 3.1% with inflation at 2.5%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UAE's own central bank rate closely. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UAE depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.