Overview
- A flydubai co‑pilot allegedly attacked Captain Smit Machchhar with the cockpit’s emergency crash axe and was detained after passengers, cabin crew and two off‑duty pilots regained control of the jet.
- Flight FZ1073 plunged roughly 14,000–17,000 feet before an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and investigators say the event has been treated as an attempted terrorist act.
- Multiple outlets and officials identify the accused as Hamam al‑Hammami, an Omani national who was reportedly previously barred from flying in Oman over radicalization concerns, but formal cross‑jurisdictional confirmations are still pending.
- Flydubai has suspended flights to and from Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a review of security procedures for foreign civilian flights to the country.
- The probe is examining how required cockpit safety tools like the crash axe were accessed, how airlines and states shared crew records before the Sept. 30 flight, and whether changes to vetting and information‑sharing will be needed to prevent similar attacks.