flydubai incident LIVE: Netanyahu suspects ‘suicide attempt’, says copilot tried to jam equipment
flydubai incident LIVE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel will investigate the "root" of the co-pilot involved in the foiled attempt to crash a flydubai flight bound for Israel. He added that Israel will "possibly" take part in the probe into the incident.
flydubai incident LIVE: Passengers aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv arrived safely in Israel on Wednesday after passengers and crew stopped a co-pilot's alleged attempt to crash the aircraft, Israeli officials said. The incident took place when the co-pilot stabbed the pilot and sent the aircraft plunging nearly 14,000 feet (4,267 m) in less than 30 seconds....Read More
Flydubai said earlier that the reasons behind the incident were still unclear and urged people to avoid "premature speculation."
Indian pilot hailed as ‘hero’
An Indian pilot was flying a Flydubai flight on Wednesday when his copilot stabbed him in an alleged attempt to crash the aircraft. His efforts to prevent the incident have since been praised by world leaders.
Capt. Smit Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, suffered serious injuries as passengers entered the cockpit and restrained the attacker while the Boeing 737 rapidly lost altitude, according to witnesses and Israeli authorities.
Machchhar was taken to the hospital and was in stable condition, the Indian embassy in Riyadh said on Wednesday. The embassy added that its officials were in touch with his family and Saudi authorities.
Netanyahu says too early to say if ‘Iran had any role’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel would investigate the "root" of the co-pilot involved in the foiled attempt to crash the flydubai flight bound for Israel. He also said Israel would "possibly" take part in the investigation.
"We'll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it. I think we'll find out very soon," Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on the network's "Hannity" program.
In an interview with CNN, Netanyahu stressed that he did not yet have information allowing him to attribute the incident to Tehran.
“So we’ll find out very soon if Iran had anything to do with it, but I can’t say that in advance of the conclusion of the interrogation.”
He later added: “We know that Iran is sponsoring a lot of this, but I can’t speak specifically of this.”
PM Modi, Netanyahu, Trump praise Indian flight
World leaders, including PM Modi, have praised the Indian pilot and called him a “hero”.
"Captain Smit Machchhar is a HERO. In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others. His valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy," Modi wrote on X.
Trump also called the pilot a “hero,” saying he managed to open the door, fall back, and shout for help.
"The pilot was in very bad shape; I guess he still is in very bad shape, but he had the sense to, amazing, to, in a way he was a hero," he said, recalling his conversation with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu on Wednesday called Machchhar a "true hero", saying that "despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker - preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster."
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- 1 Oct 2026, 11:08:28 AM IST
flydubai incident LIVE: ‘Your heroism saved countless lives’, says SpiceJet on Smit Machchhar
flydubai incident LIVE: In a statement posted on X, Indian airline SpiceJet said, “Our heartfelt prayers and deepest respect go out to Captain Smit Machchhar for his heroic courage aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073. Your heroism saved countless lives today.”
Notably, Machchhar worked with SpiceJet in Mumbai for 11 years before joining flydubai.
“His courage and selfless actions are a true embodiment of the values we hold dear at SpiceJet. His SpiceJet family joins millions across the country and around the world in wishing him a complete and swift recovery,” the statement added.
- 1 Oct 2026, 10:57:23 AM IST
flydubai incident LIVE: PM Modi speaks to Indian pilot Smit Machchhar's wife, parents
flydubai incident LIVE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to the wife and parents of Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot injured after being attacked by his co-pilot in the cockpit of a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, government sources said.
Machchhar is receiving treatment in the ICU of a hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, for injuries sustained in the attack. Modi spoke to his family while the pilot remains in intensive care, the sources said.
During the conversation, Modi praised Machchhar's bravery, saying his actions helped save hundreds of lives and prevent a major tragedy. The Prime Minister also said that Indian missions were extending all possible help to the family and ensuring they received the necessary support, the sources said. More details here.
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- 1 Oct 2026, 10:52:56 AM IST
flydubai incident LIVE: Netanyahu suspects ‘suicide attempt’, says copilot tried to jam equipment
flydubai incident LIVE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with CBS News that the motive of the co-pilot accused of stabbing the pilot on a passenger flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv remains unknown. However, he said he did not think the incident appeared to be a hijacking.
"I think it looks like a suicide attempt simply because of what this hero Yaniv described when he went in," Netanyahu said, referring to Yaniv Hayoun, a passenger on the flydubai flight who reportedly entered the cockpit and helping restrain the attacker.
"This guy was trying to jam the equipment between the two flight seats, the pilot seats," Netanyahu said of the co-pilot. "He wasn't sitting in the pilot seat trying to stabilise the plane, he was trying to jam the equipment."
- 1 Oct 2026, 10:33:15 AM IST
flydubai incident LIVE: ‘Extraordinary courage saved lives’, says Jaishankar about Machchhar
flydubai incident LIVE: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday lauded Smit Machchhar for his “extraordinary courage” and “remarkable presence of mind”, saying his actions saved hundreds of lives and averted a major tragedy.
In a post on X, Jaishkar prayed for the captain’s speedy recovery, stating, "Captain Smit Machchhar’s extraordinary courage and remarkable presence of mind, even in the face of grave danger, saved hundreds of lives yesterday and averted a major tragedy. Join the countless voices from across the world in saluting his valour and praying for his speedy recovery."
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- 1 Oct 2026, 10:20:58 AM IST
flydubai incident LIVE: Pilots prevented another 9/11 disaster, says Israel's Netanyahu
flydubai incident LIVE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an interview with CNN, praised the heroes who helped avert a ‘9/11 disaster’ after a suspected attempt to crash a flydubai flight bound for Israel on Wednesday.
“The amazing heroism here of the Indian pilot, the Israeli passenger and his colleagues, and those pilots managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster, because that’s what it looks like was happening,” he said.
- 1 Oct 2026, 10:14:18 AM IST
flydubai incident LIVE: Report says flydubai flights to Israel halted over copilot's Omani background
flydubai incident LIVE: Israeli transportation minister Miri Regev on Wednesday asked the Shin Bet (Israel security agency) to suspend all flydubai flights entering or leaving the country following the suspected attempted hijacking of a passenger aircraft travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, a source in the ministry told The Jerusalem Post.
The request came after unverified reports suggested that the co-pilot suspected of attempting to hijack the aircraft may be of Omani origin. Israeli sources later told the Post that initial investigations indicated that the suspected hijacker was believed to be an Omani national.
Flydubai’s agreement to operate in Israel specifically requires all pilots to be nationals of countries that have normalised relations with Israel. Oman is not among those countries.
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- 1 Oct 2026, 10:03:16 AM IST
flydubai incident LIVE: Who is Smit Machchhar, the ‘hero’ Indian pilot?
flydubai incident LIVE: Smit Machchhar has served as a captain on flydubai's Boeing 737 fleet since June 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. His profile shows 9,750 flying hours on the 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 and 9.
Machchhar is from Ghatkopar East in Mumbai and was living in Dubai for work, people aware of the matter told HT. Read more details here.
- 1 Oct 2026, 09:53:03 AM IST
flydubai incident LIVE: Netanyahu says probe to ascertain if Iran had role in flydubai 'crash attempt'
flydubai incident LIVE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel would investigate the "root" of the co-pilot involved in the foiled attempt to crash the flydubai flight bound for Israel. He also said Israel would "possibly" take part in the investigation.
"We'll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it. I think we'll find out very soon," Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on the network's "Hannity" program.
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