Indian Pilot Foiled Alleged Attempt to Crash Flydubai Flight in 9/11-Like Attack

A Flydubai captain of Indian origin reportedly helped avert a potential disaster after allegedly preventing his co-pilot from taking control of the aircraft and attempting to crash it.

The captain, identified in reports as Smith Machchar, was allegedly attacked by his Omani co-pilot while flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with around 180 passengers on board. Machchar reportedly fought back and managed to stop the co-pilot from gaining control of the aircraft.

Machchar had previously worked with Indian airline SpiceJet for around 10 years, according to reports. Israeli media also identified him as being of Indian origin. Channel 12 described him as a pilot of “Indian origin”, while Ynet referred to him as an “Indian national”.

The Flydubai aircraft was subsequently diverted and made an emergency landing at Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk airport at around 9:45 am local time (0645 GMT). Both pilots were injured and taken to hospital, according to the company operating the airport.

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir described the incident as a “terrorist” attack and alleged that the co-pilot intended to crash the aircraft and kill Israelis. However, authorities were continuing to investigate what happened on board, including the co-pilot’s alleged actions and possible motive.

Flight-tracking data showed that the aircraft suffered a dramatic loss of altitude during the incident. According to Flightradar data cited in reports, it descended from nearly 34,000 feet at 0521 GMT to below 17,000 feet at 0522 GMT.

Passenger Miryam Shira Ohayon said the aircraft was “pretty much out of control” when one pilot allegedly attacked the other while the plane was flying over Jordan.

Ohayon said passengers intervened and helped restrain the co-pilot, while a doctor on board provided first aid to the injured pilots. She described the situation as extremely frightening, saying passengers feared the aircraft was on course to crash.

Several Israeli media outlets reported that a fight broke out between the two pilots during the flight and that a distress signal was subsequently activated. The aircraft was then diverted to Tabuk, where it landed safely.