The captain who was attacked during an altercation inside the cockpit of a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday (September 30, 2026) is an Indian national, Captain Smit Machchhar, according to industry sources.
Mr. Official confirmation is awaited.
In a press statement, flydubai has called the incident aboard FZ 1073 “an altercation”.
Machchaar was previously employed with SpiceJet.
“At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation,” according to the press statement. The airline said that the aircraft was successfully secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk Airport (TUU) in Saudi Arabia, and that all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for. flydubai didn’t respond to a query on the identity of the injured pilot.
