Hero pilot who thwarted 'Israel's 9/11' hailed by Netanyahu for saving 174 lives aboard hijacked flight after being stabbed
Captain Smit Machchhar is stable after fighting to allow passengers into the cockpit of the FlyDubai flight after being stabbed by his co-pilot in an apparent terror plot.
A pilot stabbed aboard a flight bound for Tel Aviv heroically managed to let passengers into the cockpit despite his wounds - allowing them to wrestle control of the aircraft and saving 174 lives.
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Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar was stabbed by his co-pilot on the flight between Tel Aviv and Dubai in an attempted hijacking.
Israel has suggested the plot was part of a 9/11-style plot to crash the flight and kill all those aboard.
Despite his wounds, Smit was able to allow others into the heavily fortified cockpit, with several then restraining the terror suspect and successfully executing an emergency landing.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Captain Machchhar was a "true hero" for helping to foil an attempted hijacking.
My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 30, 2026
Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air…
The courageous aviator was taken to hospital after the plane landed in Saudi Arabia - with his condition said to be stable.
Two off-duty pilots on board managed to take over the controls and carry out the emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after passengers overpowered the attacker as he attempted to crash the FlyDubai jet.
One pilot, who is British and another, described as "European," were in transit on the flight when the attempted hijacking took place.
Mr Netanyahu wrote on X: "My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery.
"Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster.
"He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals.
"I wish Captain Machchhar a speedy and full recovery. He is a true hero."
Both Smit and his co-pilot suffered knife wounds during the cockpit struggle, with shocking video footage showing the pair lying on the floor covered in blood.
Passenger Almog Itali said: "There were two pilots in the front, one stabbed the other, and there were two spare pilots who were supposed to operate the next flight.
A hijack alert was sent from FlyDubai flight FZ1073 as the plane plunged 14,000 feet in the space of a few minutes.
"The relief pilots are European, one of them British, who entered and pulled the aircraft up ... stabilised the plane and landed us in Saudi Arabia."
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the knife-wielding suspect has since been arrested and interrogated by Saudi authorities.
His defence minister, Israel Katz, said the "jihadist" attacker "intended to kill" all 147 passengers, including 27 children.
The plane had taken off from Dubai and was due to land in Tel Aviv.
It was eventually diverted while flying over Jordanian airspace when a general emergency signal was flagged.
It was then landed at the civilian and military base of Tabu in the kingdom, with 180 passengers on board.
According to passengers, two off-duty pilots took over the controls after the original pair were injured.
A 7500 code was issued while flying over Saudi Arabia, which means a hijacking or unlawful interference was in motion.
The underlying reasons for the incident are still unknown, Flydubai has said.
Another passenger, identified only as Miriam, told Israel’s i24 channel that one of the pilots was stabbed and that there were moments she feared for her life.
She said: "We just heard screams, and then the cockpit door opened and we saw a huge amount of blood.
"The plane was completely out of control. There were moments when all of us here were certain we weren’t going to make it out alive."
Passenger Itzhak Liber recorded a video addressed to his family and uploaded it onto social media.
He said: "We took control of the situation here on the flight.
"There was an attacker with a knife who stabbed one of the pilots. We just jumped on him and restrained him together with the pilot."
Another passenger named Daniel told local media that he thought it was a repeat of 9/11.
He said the plane dropped into an "intense spin," to which he described: "It felt like an eternity, but I think it was at least two or three minutes, during which the plane was simply diving and spinning like crazy."
It felt like that’s it. It’s over. September 11 is happening again."Those three Israeli guys are real heroes. It’s hard to explain just how heroic they were."