Indian pilot Smit Machchhar is being hailed as a hero after he saved passengers on a flydubai flight when his co-pilot was allegedly attempting to crash the plane. The incident occurred on Wednesday, during which Machchhar was stabbed and the jet dropped nearly 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds before he regained control. Passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot, allowing off-duty pilots on board to land the aircraft safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Machchhar for his bravery and quick action that saved all 174 people aboard.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-01,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 30, 2026, a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv signaled multiple emergency alerts while flying over Jordan, leading it to divert to Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The Israeli Air Force scrambled fighter jets due to initial fears of a hijacking. However, Israeli officials later reported that the incident was caused by a fight between the pilots and not a security threat. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister, held emergency consultations regarding the diversion. The plane landed safely with all passengers unharmed; it carried around 150 people, mostly Israelis.
Written for “Israel Bound Flight Diverted” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 283 other(s) covering the same event.
The leaders of Israel and India hailed Indian pilot Smit Machchhar as a hero for saving passengers
after he was stabbed by his colleague in an apparent attempt to crash a flydubai plane on Wednesday.
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he → hail → Wednesday
Passengers on the flight reached Israel safely after customers and crew foiled the co-pilot’s attempt to crash the aircraft, Israeli officials said.
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officials → reach → aircraft
The struggle began when he stabbed the pilot and sent the jet plunging nearly 14,000 feet (4300 metres) in less than 30 seconds.
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jet → begin → seconds
Machchhar was covered with blood on the floor when he managed to click the release to open the cockpit door, a
spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Reuters.
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spokesperson → cover → Reuters
That allowed passengers and crew to overpower the co-pilot and enable two off-duty pilots who were on board to land the jet in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
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who → allow → Tabuk
“He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals,” Netanyahu said in a post on X.
“All passengers are out of harm’s way,” he had earlier said in a video statement released by his office.
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he → save → office
In a post on X early on Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Machchhar, calling him a “hero”.
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Modi → laud → him
“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.
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he → injure → others
His valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy,” Modi said.
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Modi → help → tragedy
Indian authorities in Saudi Arabia said Machchhar was receiving necessary medical attention in a hospital in the
north-western city of Tabuk and they are in touch with his family and Saudi authorities to extend all possible help.
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they → say → help
He was reported to be stable, the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia said in a post on X.
Machchhar, who hails from India’s financial capital Mumbai, underwent surgery after the incident, Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times reported.
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newspaper → report → incident
According to his LinkedIn profile, Machchhar worked with India’s SpiceJet airline for over 11 years before
joining flydubai.
Stuff.co.nz reported that Machchhar trained at Mainland Air in Dunedin for 18 months from 2008 to 2009.
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Machchhar → accord → 2009
New Zealand aviation college and charter airline’s chief executive Philip Kean said he was an above-average pilot.
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he → say → ?
Acknowledging that pilots train for all eventualities, Kean told Stuff, “when it happens, it’s a whole different story, isn’t it?”
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it → acknowledge → Stuff
“They have incapacitation training for pilots as part of their training, but I don’t think they have stabbing,” he said, adding that he had sent a message to Machchhar as he recovered in hospital.
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he → have → hospital
One of the off-duty pilots who took control of the plane and guided it safely to Saudi Arabia was reportedly a New Zealander.
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who → take → Arabia
“They did a great job recovering the airplane and they were very lucky the airplane didn’t fall apart,” Kean told Stuff.
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Kean → do → Stuff
Flydubai said in a statement that the underlying reasons for the event remained unknown and warned against “premature speculation”.
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reasons → say → speculation
It also suspended flights to and from Israel amid an investigation.
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It → suspend → investigation
Netanyahu described the event as “a highly severe security incident”, and said Saudi authorities would interrogate the co-pilot of flydubai FZ1073, which had been en route from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.
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which → describe → Israel
Reuters
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what → get → world
The Aporia
