A flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft prepares to land at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, September 30, 2026. (Photo: Jack GUEZ/AFP, Getty Images)
Jack Ghez | AFP | Getty Images
The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that the co-pilot who attacked the captain of a Flydubai plane with an ax was attempting a terrorist attack.
“The co-pilot began carrying out his plan during the flight and attempted to take control of the aircraft by attacking the captain inside the flight deck using a crash ax,” UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said in a post on X titled “The terrorist plan and attempt behind the Flydubai flight FZ1073 incident”.
Anwar Gargash, a senior adviser to the UAE president, said the region’s “fight against extremism continues and justifying terrorism through hate speech is part of the danger, not part of it.”
“This terrorist operation is yet another warning that the conflict is not over,” Gargash said in a post on X.
United Arab Emirates-based flydubai said there were 172 passengers and crew on board the Sept. 30 flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said most of the passengers were Israeli citizens, adding that the attackers “tried to crash the plane.”
The aircraft landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.
Passengers and crew members subdued the co-pilot after he attacked the captain, according to media reports and eyewitness accounts.
crash ax
The UAE attorney general’s statement is the first time authorities have disclosed the weapon used by the attackers.
According to the British Civil Aviation Authority and the Royal Air Force Museum, large aircraft are usually equipped with so-called crash axes that flight crews can use to eject from the cockpit in an emergency.
The UAE’s Al Shamsi said: “An investigation is underway to establish the full circumstances, motive and any links related to the incident, as well as to complete the technical investigation and analysis of physical and digital evidence.”
The AP identified the co-pilot as Hammam al-Hamami, an Omani national, citing three people familiar with the situation, including Gulf and Western diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
CNBC could not independently confirm the co-pilot’s identity.
TZAFRIA, ISRAEL – SEPTEMBER 30: Passengers carry their luggage through a flag-lined terminal aisle with waiting crowds as they arrive at Ben Gurion Airport on a Flydubai recovery flight in Tzafria, Israel, on September 30, 2026. (Photo by Eric Marmor/Getty Images)
Eric Marmor | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the injured pilot as Sumit Machar, an Indian national. The Indian embassy in Riyadh told X that Machahar was admitted to a hospital in Tabuk and reported that his condition was stable. Flydubai later announced that the captain had returned to the UAE.
The Israeli prime minister also identified the passenger who broke into the cockpit as Yaniv Hayun, calling him a “hero” and adding that he deserves a “worldwide medal of honor.”
Flight data from the tracking site FlightRadar24 shows that the plane boeing The 737 Max 8 experienced extreme altitude fluctuations before broadcasting a “general emergency” squawk code.
According to Flightradar24, FZ1073 fell from an altitude of more than 14,000 feet in just 29 seconds. Transponder data showed vertical velocities ranging from approximately -30,000 to +10,000 feet per minute.
Vertical speeds during normal operations rarely exceed plus or minus 4,000 feet per minute, according to FlightRadar24.
