FlyDubai Pilot Stabbed by Copilot Speaks to India's Modi — SkimNews
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- Captain Smit Machchhar, despite serious wounds, managed to unlock the cockpit door after being stabbed by his copilot, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker while a deadheading pilot took control of the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, which was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
- Machchhar recounted the ordeal to Indian PM Narendra Modi via video call from his Abu Dhabi hospital bed, saying he realized that if he didn't get up, "then passengers would lose their lives," and that he was "fighting for my life."
- The suspected attacker, an Omani national, was arrested upon landing in Saudi Arabia; a senior UAE official labeled the incident a "terrorist act," and Israel said it believes it was an attempted Islamist attack.
- Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the country is investigating whether the Omani co-pilot was instructed by anyone, warning that "whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price," though a source told Reuters the UAE holds primary responsibility for the investigation.
- FlyDubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith announced a full investigation and said the airline will suspend flights to Tel Aviv until at least October 15, stranding many Israelis in the UAE and prompting Israeli airlines to receive approval to begin repatriation flights.
- UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash praised Machchhar on social media as a "true hero" who deserves "the highest recognition for embodying courage and responsibility in the face of a terrorist act and an imminent catastrophe."
Why it matters: FlyDubai's Tel Aviv route suspension until at least October 15 disrupts the commercial aviation link between the UAE and Israel and strands Israeli travelers, while Netanyahu's vow that "whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price" — directed at whoever may have instructed the Omani co-pilot — raises the prospect of diplomatic escalation tied to the still-unclear motive behind the attack.
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