DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — October 3, 2026 — The co-pilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073 deliberately attempted to carry out a terrorist attack during Wednesday’s Dubai–Tel Aviv flight, attacking the captain with a cockpit crash axe and trying to seize control of the aircraft, the United Arab Emirates’ attorney general said Saturday.
Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said in a statement carried by the state-run WAM news agency that investigators found the co-pilot “launched his plan during the flight, assaulting the captain inside the cockpit with a crash axe and attempting to take control of the aircraft.”
The prosecutor general said the investigation is continuing to establish the full circumstances, motives and any wider connections behind the attack, with authorities completing technical examinations and analyzing physical and digital evidence. Final findings will be announced once the investigation is concluded.
Mid-air struggle over the flight deck
According to aviation and Israeli officials, the Boeing 737, carrying 172 passengers and crew, plunged roughly 14,000 feet during the cockpit struggle before passengers, cabin crew and an off-duty pilot stormed the flight deck and overpowered the co-pilot. The jet then made an emergency landing in Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, sustained serious injuries but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing the rescuers to intervene. The captain later spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, telling the premier: “In that moment I was fighting for my life.”
Suspect identified as Omani national
Reuters, citing a source with direct knowledge of the investigation, identified the co-pilot as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national. A second source briefed on the probe confirmed the name, according to the news agency. UAE authorities have not publicly confirmed his identity, and Oman has not commented on the incident.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier told reporters that the captain was attacked with a crash axe and said the assailant underwent “Islamist radicalization.” U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that early indications link the co-pilot to Iran — claims Tehran denies.
Dubai crown prince visits hero pilot
Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum visited Captain Machchhar in hospital on Saturday, describing the pilot as the embodiment of “the highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life.” Images shared on social media showed the crown prince at the pilot’s bedside, kissing him on the head.
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, called the incident a “dangerous terrorist act” and a warning that “the region’s struggle with extremism persists,” adding that security begins with confronting hate and “drying up the sources of extremism.”
A crash axe is standard emergency equipment carried in commercial aircraft cockpits, intended for cutting escape routes through fuselage or cabin panels in an emergency. Flydubai, which is owned by the Dubai government, said the circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.
