Flydubai Flight Makes Emergency Landing After Cockpit Altercation

A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after an altercation in the cockpit left Captain Smit Machchhar injured, the airline and officials said. Machchhar was receiving medical care and was reported in stable condition by India’s embassy; the reasons for the incident remained under investigation. Flydubai said crew members who were traveling as passengers secured the aircraft and cautioned against speculation while investigators worked to establish what happened. Reports identify the other pilot as an Omani national, but the sources do not provide an independently verified account of the full sequence in the cockpit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a passenger told him the accused copilot was at the aircraft controls while Machchhar was being attacked. Netanyahu also said the copilot shouted, “Kill me, kill me,” after being subdued. Those details have been attributed to Netanyahu’s account of what a passenger reported; they have not been presented as findings by investigators.