A Flydubai co-pilot attacked his captain with a crash axe and attempted to down a Tel Aviv-bound flight carrying 174 passengers on September 30, 2026, before off-duty pilots and passengers intervened. The UAE subsequently classified the incident as a terrorist attack.
The flight left Dubai International Airport at 7:05 a.m. local time on a Wednesday morning, climbing to a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet. Roughly two and a half hours into the journey, the Boeing 737 Max 8 experienced a sudden, violent descent, plunging more than 17,000 feet in roughly two minutes before erratic maneuvers that brought the jet near the Jordanian border. Flight-tracking data captured the chaotic trajectory, showing the aircraft transmit a general emergency signal under squawk 7700 before switching to squawk 7500, the international code for unlawful interference or hijacking.
Co-Pilot Attacks Captain with Emergency Crash Axe
Inside the flight deck, a brutal physical struggle had erupted. The co-pilot used the aircraft’s emergency crash axe—a standard cockpit safety tool required by regulators worldwide—to attack Captain Sumit Makhija. Speaking by video chat to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the injured pilot recounted how the attack unfolded after a routine request.
The co-pilot asked to pray, and out of respect I looked forward and not back. Suddenly I took a hard blow to the back of my head. I tried to stop him, but because of his initial blows, my vision almost disappeared. I heard people’s screams. And as I told the ambassador here — I had one last fight left in me. I knew that if I didn’t do it — I would die. So I used all the strength I had, walked to the door and opened it. Fortunately, people were waiting there to respond immediately and took control of the situation.
Captain Sumit Makhija
Passengers in the cabin had already felt the terrifying g-forces of the rapid nosedive. When Captain Makhija managed to open the cockpit door from the inside, civilians rushed forward. Passenger Yaniv Hayoun placed the attacker in a chokehold, pulled him out of the cockpit, and grabbed the controls to help level the aircraft while other travelers pinned the suspect down. Two reserve pilots who were traveling as passengers then stepped into the flight deck to take charge.
Friction Between Passengers and Crew After the Takedown
Once the immediate danger passed, a secondary confrontation erupted inside the cabin between the Israeli passengers who had subdued the attacker and certain crew members. An argument broke out over the handling of the suspect, with passengers refusing to comply and even administering an oxygen mask to the wounded attacker so he could be investigated.
Wary of the crew’s demands, the Israeli trio escorted the flight attendants to seats further back in the cabin and stationed a passenger to guard the cockpit entrance. The jet ultimately diverted safely to Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, landing at 9:45 a.m. local time. Saudi authorities opened an investigation through the National Transport Safety Center, while Saudi officials declined Israel’s request to send military transport planes, instead arranging for a replacement flydubai aircraft to fly the shaken passengers to Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday evening.
Omani Co-Pilot Had Previous Extremist View Concerns
Investigators identified the co-pilot as an Omani citizen named Hamam al-Hammami. Reports from international media outlets citing intelligence and diplomatic sources revealed that al-Hammami had previously been barred from flying by Oman’s national airline over concerns regarding extremist views. Despite that restriction, he was subsequently hired by Flydubai to fly sensitive regional routes.
Employment records show al-Hammami worked at Oman Air for seven years until February 2025, before a brief three-month pre-employment training stint with Royal Air Maroc that ended without selection in January 2026. He also completed a remote aviation management course at Buckinghamshire New University in the UK, graduating in 2023, though the institution confirmed he underwent no pilot training on its campus. Following the attack, digital footprints emerged showing social media content featuring El Al aircraft and imagery associated with extremist figures.
Investigators Classify Cockpit Attack as Terrorist Act
UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi announced that investigators formally classified the event as a terrorist act, stating that the co-pilot attacked the captain with a crash axe in an attempt to seize control of the aircraft. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in broadcast interviews that the attacker underwent Islamist radical indoctrination and called out Kill me, kill me!
after being subdued, indicating a clear suicide mission meant to crash the jet.
In Washington and Jerusalem, political figures praised the civilian response, with US President Donald Trump and Ambassador Mike Huckabee publicly congratulating Yaniv Hayoun for his heroism aboard the flight.
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