Flydubai pilot describes cockpit struggle after copilot stabbing

Flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar has described how he fought to regain control after being stabbed by his copilot during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Machchhar told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video call from an Abu Dhabi hospital that he had suffered many wounds and had fallen down. He said he realised he had to get up because passengers could otherwise lose their lives.

After opening the cockpit door, Machchhar enabled passengers to enter and restrain the copilot. A pilot travelling as a passenger then took control of the aircraft, which was diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. About 180 people were on board, most of them Israeli nationals.

The suspected attacker, an Omani national, was arrested after landing. His motive has not been established. The incident has been described as a terrorist attack by senior officials in the United Arab Emirates and by Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said investigators were examining whether the suspected attacker had been directed by another person. Netanyahu also said the suspect had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination and described him as suicidal. Those assertions were not accompanied by further evidence in the supplied material.

Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the UAE president, said Machchhar deserved the highest recognition for his conduct during what he described as an imminent catastrophe. Flydubai chief executive Ghaith Al Ghaith said the company would conduct a full investigation and that facts should be established through that process. The airline suspended flights to Tel Aviv until at least October 15.

A source said Israeli officials were expected to investigate the copilot, who was being held in the UAE, while emphasising that the UAE was responsible for the investigation. The incident disrupted travel between the UAE and Israel, leaving some Israelis stranded. Israeli airlines later received approval to begin repatriating Israeli nationals.