Flydubai Captain Recounts Attack as UAE Investigates

Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar said he opened the cockpit door while injured during an attack by his copilot, allowing passengers and crew to intervene before the aircraft landed safely in Saudi Arabia. The UAE has opened an investigation into the September 30 incident, but the copilot’s motive and whether anyone else was involved remain unknown. Machchhar described the episode during a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. He said he had fallen to the cockpit floor with serious injuries and could feel the aircraft descending. Believing the plane was going down, he made a final effort to reach and open the cockpit door, he recounted. Passengers and crew then entered and helped restrain the attacker, according to accounts of the incident. Flight FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with about 170 passengers aboard when the confrontation occurred. The plane diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and landed safely. Reports say two other pilots travelling aboard helped take control of the aircraft. The captain and copilot received medical care in Saudi Arabia; the captain was later transferred to the United Arab Emirates for further treatment.