Overview
- Passengers and on‑duty flydubai crew overpowered the alleged attacker after the co‑pilot stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar and the Boeing 737 plunged roughly 14,000–17,000 feet before diverting to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
- Machchhar was taken to hospital in Tabuk and is reported in stable condition while the alleged co‑pilot was arrested and remains in Saudi custody with Israeli officials reporting he may be an Omani national though that has not been independently confirmed.
- Publicly available flight‑tracking data show the jet lost altitude rapidly and its transponder later transmitted 7700, the general emergency code, and 7500, the hijack code, signaling unlawful interference to controllers.
- Flydubai has temporarily suspended flights to and from Israel and the UAE attorney general has opened a formal probe asserting UAE jurisdiction over the UAE‑registered aircraft while Saudi, Israeli and other authorities coordinate parts of the investigation.
- Investigators are focused on how a weapon reached the cockpit, whether it was a smuggled item or an on‑board emergency axe, and the outcome could spur tighter crew screening, changes to cockpit access and wider reviews of airline security procedures.