Passengers intervene in attack aboard FlyDubai flight

Passengers aboard FlyDubai Flight 1073 intervened during an attack on the captain in the cockpit, helping subdue the suspected attacker and allowing the aircraft to land safely in Saudi Arabia, according to passenger accounts and officials. The Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight made an emergency landing in Tabuk after issuing a distress call. The suspect’s identity and motive remain unresolved in the available reports. Dentist Shota Musaev said he went to help Captain Smit Machchhar, who was bleeding from wounds sustained in the cockpit. Musaev said he pressed on the injuries to stop the bleeding and heard the captain plead for help. The captain was conscious, he said. Those details come from Musaev’s account; the reports provide no independent medical findings about the injuries or treatment. Passenger Yaniv Hayun said he helped pull the suspected attacker from the cockpit and briefly handled the aircraft’s controls after seeing the pilots incapacitated. Hayun said he pulled the control yoke to help level the plane until another pilot took over. Other passenger accounts likewise describe people aboard restraining the suspect and intervening at the controls.