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Flydubai co-pilot attacks captain with cockpit crash axe in flight

A Flydubai co-pilot attacked the captain with the cockpit crash axe and sent a Dubai to Tel Aviv flight carrying 174 people into a steep descent before the crew regained control and diverted safely to Saudi Arabia.

30 September 2026

On 30 September 2026, a Flydubai co-pilot attacked the captain of a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv using the aircraft's cockpit crash axe, according to Al Jazeera and CBS News. The captain, Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, was wounded. The aircraft dropped roughly 17,000 feet before passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot, and two off duty pilots who happened to be riding on the flight helped bring the jet back under control. It diverted and landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. No passengers were seriously hurt, airline and UAE officials said.

In plain terms

The crash axe is emergency equipment carried in every airliner cockpit to break through panels or a locked door during a fire, not a weapon. Investigators say it was used here as one.

The United Arab Emirates' General Civil Aviation Authority described the attack as an attempted terrorist act, Al Jazeera reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that Israeli authorities believe the co-pilot underwent what he called Islamist radical indoctrination, based on information gathered during his ongoing questioning. CBS News, citing people familiar with the investigation, identified the co-pilot as Hamam al Hamami and reported that he had briefly trained with Oman Air before Omani authorities flagged him for visiting extremist websites.

No cause has been confirmed by an air accident investigation authority, and the UAE's inquiry into the operational and security aspects of the flight continues.

Sources