Pilot allegedly stabbed his co-pilot. Then the plane plunged 17,000 feet as passengers immediately panic: ‘Dramatic disaster’
A sudden drop during a flight is terrifying, especially when passengers do not know why. On one Flydubai flight, however, the danger was allegedly inside the cockpit.
Passengers have had to step in when a flight crew loses control of a situation. This time, people reportedly rushed toward the cockpit as the plane dropped thousands of feet. What they found made the situation even more frightening.
According to PEOPLE, Flydubai Flight FZ1073 was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Sept. 30 when violence allegedly broke out between the pilots. The co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to crash the plane. Passengers and crew rushed to intervene.
The danger wasn’t over yet
The Boeing 737 was carrying more than 170 passengers when the emergency unfolded. The plane took a sharp nosedive about two hours and 15 minutes into the flight, dropping from 34,000 feet to around 17,000 feet in under a minute.
The flight also began transmitting emergency codes. It initially sent a general emergency signal before switching to code 7500, which indicates unlawful interference aboard an aircraft. The alert later returned to a general emergency as the plane diverted toward Saudi Arabia.
Inside the aircraft, passengers reportedly had little idea what was happening at first. One passenger recalled feeling the plane moving erratically before people toward the front realized the aircraft was diving and made their way into the cockpit.
The captain, Smit Machchhar, had allegedly been stabbed by the co-pilot during the confrontation. Despite his injuries, Machchhar managed to release the cockpit door. That gave passengers and crew access to the flight deck, where they reportedly overpowered the co-pilot.
It was an unusually fortunate moment for another reason. A second pair of Flydubai pilots happened to be traveling aboard the flight. After the alleged attacker was subdued, those pilots were able to take control of the aircraft.
An Israeli official said, “The plane started to dive, and a team of pilots who were present there took control of the stabber and the plane — a dramatic disaster was averted.”
The emergency ultimately ended at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia. The replacement pilots safely landed the plane there, while the injured captain and co-pilot were taken to a hospital.
For passengers, the moments before that landing had been terrifying. One woman said her husband rushed toward the front of the aircraft after someone alerted the cabin to what was happening.
“Someone shouted ‘stabbing’ and my husband immediately understood what was happening and rushed to the front of the plane, and along with other Israelis they neutralized the terrorist,” she told The Times of Israel.
Images and videos from inside the aircraft showed the aftermath of the confrontation, including blood in the cabin and distressed passengers. Footage also captured people crying after the aircraft’s sudden descent.
An onboard emergency can become even more frightening when passengers have no idea what threat they are facing. Travelers on a Southwest Airlines flight were once ordered to put their hands up after hearing warnings about a possible bomb threat.
All passengers ultimately made it through the incident without injuries, according to the airline. They later continued to Israel aboard a replacement aircraft.
Machchhar underwent surgery following the attack and was reported to be in stable condition. India’s embassy in Saudi Arabia said it was in contact with his family and local authorities.
Saudi authorities are investigating what happened aboard the flight. Flydubai said the circumstances and motive behind the cockpit incident remain under investigation.
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