FlyDubai Co-Pilot Attacks Captain on Flight to Israel, Lands in Saudi Arabia

Out of 172 passengers and crew aboard a Boeing 737 MAX plunging from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in under one minute on September 30, 2026, an Israel-bound flight faced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a co-pilot stabbed his captain and tried to crash the aircraft before passengers and crew subdued him, triggering international security investigations and political fallout across the Middle East.

The flight, designated as flight FZ1073, departed from Dubai carrying 172 passengers and crew, primarily Israeli citizens, according to reporting from the Associated Press. Around two and a half hours into the journey, the aircraft transmitted a general emergency signal followed by the international code for unlawful interference, according to flight tracking data from Flightradar24.

Passengers and Crew Subdue Attacker in Cockpit

During the disturbance, the Boeing 737 MAX abruptly plummeted from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in under one minute. In the flight deck, co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami attacked Captain Smit Machchhar with an emergency crash axe typically kept in the cockpit for emergencies, The Indian Express reported.

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/2105494062002487336

The captain joined Flydubai as a direct entry captain in June 2022 and had accumulated nearly 9,750 flying hours across Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX aircraft during a career spanning roughly 15 years.

Passengers Yaniv Hayoun and Tzvika Manes intervened to subdue the attacker.

https://x.com/IsraeliPM/status/2105378546457940142

“You’re the hero,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Yaniv Hayoun, one of the passengers who was on the FlyDubai plane after a pilot apparently tried to crash the plane.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister

International Authorities Investigate Flight Training Background

International authorities have launched multi-country investigations into the background of 29-year-old co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami. The Indian Express reported that Hammami trained at England’s L3 Airline Academy between 2018 and 2019, attended aviation training in New Zealand between November 2018 and May 2019, and studied at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

Law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia, including the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, are examining his international movements. He subsequently worked for Royal Air Maroc before joining Flydubai for an eight-month tenure. CNN reported that a deleted LinkedIn profile belonging to the co-pilot featured posts uploaded hours after the attack containing cockpit videos and imagery of former al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

FlyDubai Co-Pilot Attacks Captain on Flight to Israel, Lands in Saudi Arabia — Photo: The Independent

Officials Review Security and Suspension of Dubai-Tel Aviv Routes

The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general classified the incident as a terrorist attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israeli questioning indicated the suspect underwent Islamist radical indoctrination.

Israeli officials, including Ofer Vaknin of the Aircraft Safety Investigation Authority, stated that Israel has offered assistance but awaits an invitation to join the Saudi-led probe. Flydubai Chief Executive Officer Ghaith Al Ghaith confirmed that operations between Dubai and Tel Aviv remain temporarily suspended pending the outcome of official inquiries, as announced in Flightradar24’s first-party briefing.