Twelve Minutes of Terror: How a Stabbed Pilot and Passengers Saved a Plunging Flydubai Jet

Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, hailed globally as a hero for preventing a catastrophic disaster after being stabbed by his colleague aboard a Flydubai flight, has recounted the harrowing ordeal. During a video call from his hospital bed in Saudi Arabia, Captain Smit Machchhar described to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi how he fought to unlock the cockpit door despite severe injuries while Flydubai Flight FZ1073 plummeted mid-air on Wednesday.

As the aircraft rapidly lost altitude, passengers and crew members stormed the cockpit, subdued the attacker, and regained control of the plane. United States President Donald Trump also commended the swift actions of an "Israeli plumber" on board, Yaniv Hayun, whose intervention helped stabilize the flight during the crisis.

Flight FZ1073 had departed Dubai for Tel Aviv at 7:05am on Wednesday, climbing to 34,000ft before abruptly beginning a steep descent. Data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft plunged more than 17,000ft in just two minutes, creating extreme turbulence and chaos inside the cabin as passengers braced for impact.

Amid the chaos, a violent struggle unfolded in the cockpit. The copilot attacked Captain Smit Machchhar, leaving him grievously wounded on the floor. Despite severe blood loss, Machchhar used his remaining strength to trigger the cockpit door release from the inside, enabling passengers—including Tzvika Manes, Asaf Rajuan, and Yaniv Hayun—to overpower the attacker.

Following the scuffle, Hayun briefly took control of the flight deck, pulling up the controls while drawing on inspiration from aviation crash documentaries. Meanwhile, a dentist traveling on the flight, Shota Musayev, rushed to the cockpit to treat the wounded captain, successfully stabilizing his blood pressure and stopping the heavy bleeding.

The aircraft eventually leveled out around 15,000ft before transmitting emergency transponder codes and requesting an emergency landing. Nearly four hours after takeoff, Flight FZ1073 safely landed in Tabuk, where emergency medical staff awaited the 174 people on board.