Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan Visits Hero flydubai Pilot After Mid-Flight Attack

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, on Saturday offered the nation's "full appreciation and praise" to hero flydubai pilot, Capt Smit Machchhar, during a hospital visit.

Sheikh Hamdan stated that the pilot—currently receiving medical care in Abu Dhabi following an attack by his co-pilot on a flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday—"embodied the highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life."

Capt Machchhar successfully managed to open the cockpit door after being struck with a crash axe, enabling crew members and passengers to intervene and help avert a disaster as the aircraft plunged thousands of feet.

A small group of passengers alongside a reserve pilot managed to overpower the co-pilot, stabilize the aircraft, and safely land the Boeing 737 in Tabuk, situated in north-western Saudi Arabia.

"From us, and from the leadership of the nation, he has our full appreciation and praise," Sheikh Hamdan declared. "We are proud that he is part of our team. Part of the story of our nation and part of what the UAE stands for. A nation of compassion, a nation of peace and a nation of life."

Hamad Al Shamsi, the UAE's attorney general, announced on Saturday that investigations revealed the co-pilot had attacked the captain on the flight deck using a crash axe in an attempt to seize control of the aircraft. A crash axe is equipment typically kept inside a plane cockpit for use during emergencies.

The attorney general further noted that the co-pilot—whose name and nationality have not been disclosed by UAE authorities—had “attempted to carry out a terrorist act.” Investigations are actively continuing to determine the full circumstances and motives behind the incident through the examination of physical and digital evidence.