Hero FlyDubai pilot who fought back against attacker identified as Indian Capt Smit Machchhar

The co-pilot accused of attacking the captain aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight was standing over the aircraft’s controls and using his feet to destroy them, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

David Mencer told “The Story” that Netanyahu received the account from a passenger who entered the cockpit with crew members.

“That pilot wasn't sitting in the pilot's chair,” Mencer said. “He was standing over the controls. He was using his feet to destroy the controls of the aircraft while he was attacking that Indian pilot.”

Mencer said the account showed the attacker intended to bring down the aircraft. He also said Netanyahu had described the suspect as a radical Islamist.

Host Martha MacCallum emphasized that investigators still needed to determine whether anyone directed the suspect, whether the attack had been planned or whether he decided to act that morning.

India’s ambassador to Israel paid tribute to Capt. Smit Machchhar at a gathering in Tel Aviv, praising the wounded pilot’s role in helping save 174 lives aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073.

Ambassador JP Singh honored Machchhar during the India-Israel Festival and National Convention of Indian Jews, India’s embassy in Israel said on X.

Singh said the captain’s bravery had made Israel and the world proud, according to the embassy.

The ambassador also wished Machchhar a speedy and complete recovery following the attack aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight.

India’s president praised Capt. Smit Machchhar for protecting passengers despite serious injuries during the attack aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight.

“The nation is proud of Captain Smit Machchhar,” the president’s official account wrote on X. “His heroic courage and incredible presence of mind have deeply touched us all.”

The post credited Machchhar’s determination and quick response with helping prevent a major tragedy.

“Even after being seriously injured in a moment of grave peril, he remained determined to protect the lives of others,” the statement read.

Israeli officials have credited the captain with opening the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to intervene.

“I salute his indomitable spirit,” the president wrote. “I pray for his speedy recovery and good health.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Capt. Smit Machchhar for fighting back during the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight attack, calling his actions “the highest form of courage.”

“Without fearing for his own life, he fought valiantly and prevented another 9/11 like attack from happening,” Modi wrote on X.

Machchhar has been credited by Israeli officials with opening the cockpit door despite serious injuries, allowing passengers and crew to intervene.

Modi said India’s 1.4 billion people salute the captain and are praying for his well-being.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the Dubai flight rescue as “a chain of miracles with divine assistance” during a Torah study session focused on heroism.

Netanyahu hosted the Hoshana Rabba gathering Thursday evening in the Knesset sukkah, according to his office.

“The tradition of Jewish heroism tips the scales,” Netanyahu said. “What happened yesterday is a chain of miracles with divine assistance.”

His remarks followed the attack aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, where passengers and crew intervened before the aircraft landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., praised the passengers and captain who helped stop the attack aboard FlyDubai Flight 1073, saying their courage sent a message to terrorists.

“The courage displayed aboard FlyDubai Flight 1073 is nothing short of extraordinary,” Harris wrote on X.

Harris singled out Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayun, saying he saw innocent people in danger and “acted without hesitation.”

“His bravery, alongside the actions of Captain Smit Machchhar and others on board, helped save 174 lives, including four Americans,” Harris wrote.

The State Department previously confirmed that four Americans were aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, which diverted to Saudi Arabia.

“God bless these heroes and the message they send to radicalized terrorists plotting attacks around the world,” Harris added. “Good will always triumph over evil.”

Israel is sending investigators to the United Arab Emirates to help determine whether anyone directed the co-pilot accused of trying to bring down the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

David Mencer told “The Story” that Netanyahu confirmed the Omani suspect had been transferred to the UAE, allowing Israeli teams to join the UAE-led investigation.

“We'll get to know a whole lot more information now that he's in the UAE and we can join the investigation,” Mencer said.

Mencer also relayed a chilling account Netanyahu received from a passenger who entered the cockpit: The attacker was allegedly standing over the aircraft’s controls and using his feet to destroy them while attacking the captain.

“His objective was to bring down that airplane,” Mencer said.

The spokesman alleged the attack was intended to undermine the Abraham Accords and disrupt Israel’s election. He did not provide evidence supporting those claims or establish whether the suspect had been directed by Iran or another organization.

Investigators would examine the suspect’s motives, plans and possible connections, Mencer said.

A Boston native aboard the plunging Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight held hands with an 11-year-old girl and prepared goodbye messages to her family as she feared she might not survive.

Mika Bauman, 25, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, described the terrifying ordeal to NBC News, saying passengers screamed as the aircraft suddenly descended during the cockpit attack.

“We didn't let go until Saudi Arabia,” Bauman told the outlet.

Bauman said she could not see what was happening at the front of the aircraft but could tell it was angled toward the ground. She described intense pressure as the jet fell.

The flight eventually stabilized and landed safely in Saudi Arabia after passengers and crew intervened.

Bauman said she deleted the messages she had prepared for her family once the immediate danger passed, determined to believe she would make it home to Tel Aviv.

The attack remains under investigation, including whether it was terrorism-related.

Airlines need to look harder at the people inside the cockpit, an aviation security expert warned after the attack aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight.

Arik Arad, founder of CYVIATION and former head of security for El Al at Ben Gurion Airport, said the incident should prompt stronger employee screening and closer attention to pilots’ mental health.

“I don't think that most of the airlines are actually aware of a potential threat that comes from the inside the cockpit,” Arad said.

He recommended psychological, behavioral and environmental assessments alongside pilots’ required medical exams and simulator training to identify stress or other problems.

Airlines, he argued, may be unwilling or unable to devote enough resources to monitoring pilots’ daily mental health.

Arad predicted the incident would lead to additional security procedures and regulations, including changes to employee background checks.

“I believe this will teach us all a lesson of how to actually examine pilots further,” he said.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised Israeli passengers who intervened aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, saying their heroism helped avert a catastrophe.

“The attempted terrorist attack aboard the FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv could have been absolutely catastrophic, if not for the heroism of the Israeli passengers on board,” Pompeo wrote on X.

While acknowledging that details were still emerging, Pompeo delivered a forceful message of support for Israel.

“The people of Israel will never be defeated by jihadism,” he wrote. “Never forget that their fight is our fight too.”

In a separate post, Pompeo also praised Capt. Smit Machchhar, the wounded pilot credited with opening the cockpit door so passengers and crew could intervene.

Pompeo said everyone should aspire to the captain’s bravery and quick thinking, adding, “Praying for his quick recovery.”

The captain and co-pilot involved in the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight incident have left Saudi Arabia for Abu Dhabi accompanied by an Emirati security team, Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said Thursday.

Both had been hospitalized and were cleared to travel after their conditions improved, according to a translation of the ministry’s statement.

The ministry described preliminary findings as an “altercation” between the captain and co-pilot that injured both. Its statement did not address Israeli officials’ allegations that the co-pilot attacked the captain and tried to crash the aircraft.

Saudi authorities said the plane landed safely in Tabuk at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday with 174 passengers and eight crew members aboard.

Passengers continued their journey on a replacement FlyDubai aircraft at 5:40 p.m. The remaining crew returned to Dubai separately.

The ministry said Saudi investigators worked with a UAE security team and emphasized that its response followed international and humanitarian obligations.

An Israeli father who helped subdue the accused attacker aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight said his three young daughters screamed that they did not want to die as the aircraft plunged.

Passenger Tzvika Manes told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst that his daughters, ages 11, 7 and 6, were terrified during the cockpit attack.

“They were shouting, ‘We don't want to die,’” Manes said, describing “very emotional and very traumatic moments.”

Manes was one of four Israeli passengers who helped overpower the co-pilot accused of attacking the captain, Yingst reported from Tel Aviv.

“When your family is behind, you're running to the fire,” Manes said. “We're trying to save them.”

He recalled passengers shouting and falling under the forces of the aircraft’s dive.

“He tried to do 9/11 in Israel,” Manes said. “And thank God we overcome this situation.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect appeared to have been radicalized but cautioned that possible connections remained under investigation.

“I think it's too early to say whether he had any connections with Iran or with anyone else,” Netanyahu said in remarks aired during the report.

President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "could have been" responsible for the bloody attack on FlyDubai flight 1073 on Wednesday.

When asked by Fox News' Peter Doocy if he had been briefed on a possible connection between Iran and the Omani copilot who stabbed the FlyDubai pilot, Trump responded, "We're working on it. Right now they're being very open with us. I would say the answer based on what I'm hearing is yes."

Trump also, in response to Doocy asking if the attacker could have been trained by the IRGC, said "could have been."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox & Friends on Thursday morning that it was too early to know if the attacker had terrorist connections, but said we would know soon.

An Israeli mother and her two children described the traumatic experience of witnessing blood and screams during Wednesday’s attempted hijacking of FlyDubai flight 1073 in a Thursday interview with Fox News’ Harris Faulkner.

“What can I say, it was a horrifying situation, it felt like forever,” Lital Shahar recalled.

Lital, who was interviewed alongside her 14-year-old daughter Hila and 11-year-old daughter Eliya, explained that she had both girls and their two other sisters, ages 7 and 5, on the flight.

Lital said they were “really traumatized from what happened.”

“I was experiencing a lot of fear because I didn’t really understand what was happening,” 11-year-old Eliya told Faulkner. “I was going through lots of thoughts of hope, getting back home, and another thought of being like ‘I don’t want to die.’

“There was a lot of screams, a lot of blood, a lot of things that [made me] wish I wouldn’t go on the flight,” Eliya added.

Lital described the exact moment she found out something was wrong.

“Suddenly there was a woman, [who] came out of business class and started screaming. There was lots of blood. ‘He stabbed him, he stabbed him!’” Lital recounted the woman shouting.

“The Israeli men, the heroes that were on the plane, jumped into action,” she continued. “Yaniv, the one that everyone is saying now and talking about, was sitting a row behind me, and was so quick I didn’t even see him.

“I just saw him coming back after everything kind of finished, full with blood on his clothes. And the other men were in the first rows so I didn’t see them as well. They were really heroic. And Captain Smith was able, in his last powers, to open the door of the cockpit that saved us all. We are so grateful for him as well,” Lital added.

The mother of four said the situation was not only a miracle, but a culmination of multiple miracles.

“In that moment we realized, I realized, that we are in the hands of God, and he’s the only one who can save us now. And definitely the miracles that were on that plane… miracles. It was miracle in a miracle,” Lital said.

“What we had there, it’s like a Bible scene. The best writers in Hollywood wouldn’t be able to write such a script…We need to thank God for his good and his kindness and his mercy that he has,” she told Faulkner.

The Indian pilot being credited with helping save the lives of 174 passengers after being stabbed on a FlyDubai aircraft heading to Israel has "shown the world the highest form of courage," India’s prime minister said.

Narendra Modi said Thursday that Captain Smit Machchhar, "without fearing for his own life," had "fought valiantly and prevented another 9/11-like attack from happening" on Wednesday onboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073, which had to make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Modi added that India is saluting Machchhar and is "praying for his wellbeing." The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia described the "brave" pilot as being in stable condition after being taken to a hospital.

This is an excerpt from a story by Greg Norman-Diamond

A former advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it's clear that the copilot who stabbed the pilot during Wednesdays FlyDubai incident was ideologically motivated.

"As the hours go on and the copilot continues under the Saudi investigation, it's becoming clearer and clearer that indeed he was ideologically motivated, this wasn't a suicidal person," Caroline Glick, Netanyahu's former foreign affairs advisor, told Fox News' Harris Faulkner in an exclusive interview Thursday.

"This wasn't somebody who just happened to take along by mistake, or as collateral damage, he wanted to take down 173 other people together with him when he was committing suicide but this was actually deliberate and it was deliberately against Israelis," she said.

"The real question that most people are asking right now is was he acting on behalf of a terrorist organization, on behalf of a terrorist regime?" Glick wondered.

Netanyahu himself told Fox & Friends on Thursday it was too early to say whether or not the copilot, who has only been identified as an Omani national, was supported by Iran or a terror group, though Netanyahu did say he had been radicalized by Islamist indoctrination.

A mother and daughter onboard FlyDubai flight 1073 alerted the rest of the plane to the stabbing incident in the flight's cockpit, a passenger told Fox News' America's Newsroom in an exclusive Thursday interview.

"There was a woman with a daughter going to the toilet, and a few seconds after that, she pulled her daughter back to the passenger area, screaming, 'He stabbed the pilot! He stabbed the pilot!'" Daniel Schlichter, a passenger sitting in the second row of the flight, recounted.

"A few seconds after that, I heard a very violent fight coming from the cockpit area. The door was a little bit open, which is standardly not a sound that you hear from the cockpit. I immediately understood that there was a situation going on inside. Right after that, three Israelis sitting behind me ran to the cockpit area. The pilot was pushing the terrorist out of the cockpit room, and these three guys pulled him out, got control of him, and tackled him to the ground," he continued.

Schlichter revealed that passengers used in-flight headphone wires to tie up the attackers hands and feet after subduing him.

He then recalled the terrifying moments in which the plane was plummeting to the ground, recounting how it felt like the ground was rapidly approaching.

"From that moment, the airplane was going down rapidly. It felt like 9/11 for sure—that's what I was feeling. I was looking out the window, seeing the desert and the ground getting closer to me, and I understood there was a very big chance we would lose our lives," he said.

After stepping off the plane, he said he realized he was part of something special. "Only after stepping off the airplane and seeing parts of the tail damaged or missing do you clearly understand that it was 100% a miracle," he told Fox News' Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino.

FlyDubai has temporarily suspended all flights to and from Israel in the wake of Wednesday's mid-flight stabbing, the company announced Wednesday.

The airline, which operates the flight in which an Omani national copilot stabbed the primary pilot before being subdued by passengers, has halted flights in Israel to allow for invesitgations.

"This temporary suspension will allow the relevant authorities to continue their work and establish all the facts surrounding the incident," the company wrote in a statement on its website.

"The safety and wellbeing of our passengers, crew and operations remain our highest priority," the statement added.

Capt. Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who was stabbed by his copilot during a Wednesday attack onboard FlyDubai flight 1073, was stabbed in the head and sustained other severe injuries, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed in an exclusive Thursday interview with Fox & Friends.

"He was stabbed in the head, and his arm was basically split in two. And there was a lot of blood," Netanyahu told Fox & Friends.

One Israeli on board the flight, a dentist, began treating Machchhar's injuries while other passengers subdued his attacker, Netanyahu recounted.

"He gave an immediate treatment to this brave Indian pilot who was attacked by the by this Omani pilot, and then he says, 'listen, hold on for a second.' He rushes back to his wife, tells her, 'Here's your job, you. I'm going back in there. You take care of the passengers.' And that's the way it worked. It was just incredible teamwork," Netanyahu said.

After Machchhar was stabilized at a hospital in Saudi Arabia near where the plane made an emergency landing, he was airlifted to a hospital in Doha, UAE, where he is currently receiving treatment. He is reportedly safe.

"We salute the bravery of Captain Smit Machchhar, who, in spite of being gravely injured, showed remarkable courage that saved the lives of many. He is receiving medical attention and is safe. We wish and pray for his speedy recovery. The nation proudly stands with him," Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs, wrote in a Wednesday post on X.

The copilot who stabbed the pilot in the cockpit of FlyDubai flight 1073 was an Omani national who went through "Islamist radical indoctrination," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed in a Thursday interview with Fox & Friends.

"The attacker, the copilot who attacked the captain, is now being interrogated, but here's what we do know: First, we know that, he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination," Netanyahu told Fox & Friends.

"That appears to be something we're gathering from the information – his personal information," he added

Netanyahu said the pilot slipped through a loophole in a rule that states pilots flying to Israel can't be from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

"Well, he was an Omani national and we have constraints that say you can't have pilots from countries that don't have diplomatic relations with Israel," he told Fox & Friends.

"So obviously he was able to go through that. So there's a loophole there: How to make sure that we screened pilots in advance," he continued.

"And that's what we did, by the way, with the pilots that came to take our passengers from Saudi Arabia to Israel: We checked their background, but obviously there was a loophole here, and we're taking care of that, among other things."

Israel and the United Arab Emirates are investigating whether Wednesday's apparent hijacking was a terrorist incident.

"We'll be following and possibly also participating in this investigation," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Wednesday.

Netanyahu also revealed that Israel will be investigating if the attacker was backed by Iran.

"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," he said.

Israel's Ambassador to the UAE Yossi Avraham Shelley reportedly told Reuters that it's "too early to draw conclusions."

The copilot, whose identity officials have not yet released, has been identified as an Omani national.

Reuters contributed to this post.

An Israeli military veteran named Tal who was a passenger on the FlyDubai flight that plummeted over 16,000 feet after its copilot stabbed the pilot in an apparent attempted hijacking told Fox & Friends his story of witnessing first-hand the attempted hijacking and subsequent thwarting.

"What I saw was one of the ladies who came out of the toilet with her daughter screaming. I actually had my headphones on, so I pulled them out. Immediately, we realized the aircraft started bouncing from left to right. That's when everything started happening, and some people ran to the front," Tal, who chose not to reveal his last name, told Fox & Friends.

Tal explained that when he began walking towards the cockpit from his seat on the flight's sixth row, other passengers were already wrestling with the copilot while others were trying to stabilize the injured pilot.

Tal also explained that he was seated next to two pilots who were slated to take over flight duties after the plane landed in Tel Aviv.

"I noticed the cockpit was empty. No one was in the cockpit because one pilot was lying on the floor bleeding, and everyone was fighting the other pilot, trying to handcuff him, At that moment, I ran to the two off-duty pilots and told them, 'Guys, you need to go to the cockpit! You need to go to the cockpit!'" he recalled.

"I think it took them about four seconds to understand what was going on. At that point, one of them literally jumped over the two other pilots—one bleeding and one being fought—took control of the aircraft, and righted it," he continued.

Tal praised his fellow Israelis' calm under pressure, explaining how the passengers all entered "action mode."

"It’s a lot to process. Unfortunately, us Israelis know how to process these types of situations. The passengers processed everything really fast, and each person took on a role—whether you were a kid trying to get through it, or a mother with kids. Everyone was in 'action mode,' trying to see how we could get out of the situation.

The Israeli veteran also expressed dismay at elements of the public's reaction to the incident.

"I just want to say something that frustrated me: while everything was happening, I was one of the only people who could communicate externally because I had reception. I was getting messages from people saying the global media was reporting it as a fight between two pilots, while I was reporting from inside that it was a terror attack. It was really frustrating that the media's default reaction was that it couldn't be a terror attack, even though it clearly was," he said.

"It feels like there is a sentiment where the global media allows it to happen—that if it's related to Israelis or Jews, it's treated differently than any other country. That’s how it felt to me," he concluded.

Four Americans were aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight that diverted to Saudi Arabia following the cockpit attack, a State Department spokesperson confirmed.

The department said it is working with local authorities and stands ready to provide consular assistance to any Americans aboard the flight.

The U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah remain in contact with local authorities as they investigate, the spokesperson said.

The department emphasized the Trump administration’s commitment to assisting Americans abroad.

Fox News’ Nick Kalman contributed to this report.