Photo via The Guardian

Flydubai captain describes blocking axe blows as co-pilot attacked him

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

Reuters. (2026, October 18). Flydubai captain describes blocking axe blows as co-pilot attacked him. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/18/flydubai-captain-smit-machchhar-blocking-axe-blows-flight-fz1073

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-18 · by Reuters
Content note This article describes suicide or self-harm.

Quick Summary

Capt Smit Machchhar of flydubai describes blocking axe blows to his head while being attacked by a co-pilot who intended to crash the plane into Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv last month. The attack occurred when Flight FZ1073 was over Saudi airspace, causing the aircraft to drop 16,000 feet in 30 seconds before Machchhar could open the cockpit door and call for help. Two additional pilots onboard safely landed the plane in Saudi Arabia after overpowering the attacker, who is an Omani national. The UAE attorney general has characterized this as a planned suicide attack inspired by the September 11 attacks on the US.
Written by AI on 2026-10-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Smit Machchhar, the captain of Flydubai Flight 1073, has spoken publicly for the first time about the September 30 incident where his co-pilot attacked him with an axe in a suicide attempt. Machchhar, severely wounded and lying on the cockpit floor, managed to open the door so another pilot aboard could enter and help regain control of the plane, which safely landed in Saudi Arabia. The attack occurred during the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, and Emirati authorities have accused co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami of trying to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv as a "suicide attack." Machchhar described blocking axe blows, struggling to open the cockpit door, and losing vision temporarily. Passengers and crew members rushed forward to subdue the attacker, with two other Flydubai pilots traveling as passengers assisting in landing the plane safely.

Written for “Flydubai Pilot Describes Attack” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Flydubai Pilot Describes Attack
Crime & Law · 7 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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Hedges 4 of 27 claims Outlet record 68/100
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Hedges 2 of 18 claims Outlet record 66/100
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Outlet record 60/100
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

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Who wrote this

Reuters
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Topics

Dubai Tel Aviv The National UAE flydubai

Subjects

Machchhar PERSON · 3× UAE GPE · 3× flydubai ORG · 2× Abu Dhabi GPE · 1× Dubai GPE · 1× Saudi NORP · 1× Saudi Arabia GPE · 1× Smit Machchhar PERSON · 1× Tel Aviv GPE · 1× The National ORG · 1×

Narrative

Speaking in an interview with The National newspaper from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, his head and left arm bandaged, Machchhar said that when the first blow landed, he thought something had gone “horribly wrong with the aircraft structure” before quickly realising he was being attacked and things had “taken a drastic turn”.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 “My immediate action was to free myself from the seatbelts and I tried to just block the blows as much as I could.”
2026-10-18 · The Guardian
Flydubai captain describes blocking axe blows as co-pilot attacked him · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 1 hedged)

The captain of a flydubai flight who was attacked by a co-pilot who intended to crash the plane has described blocking axe blows to his head and screaming for help as he reached to open the cockpit door. asserted
he → attack → door
Capt Smit Machchhar has been hailed as a hero for his role in averting disaster on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv last month, helping to thwart what the UAE attorney general has said was an attempted suicide attack by the co-pilot who had intended to crash the plane into Ben Gurion airport. asserted
who → hail → airport
Speaking in an interview with The National newspaper from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, his head and left arm bandaged, Machchhar said that when the first blow landed, he thought something had gone “horribly wrong with the aircraft structure” before quickly realising he was being attacked and things had “taken a drastic turn”. asserted
things → speak → turn
“The next thought was I need to get help in here,” he said. asserted
he → need → help
“My immediate action was to free myself from the seatbelts and I tried to just block the blows as much as I could.” uncertain
I → free → blows
He pointed to his arm that was wounded as he defended himself. asserted
he → point → himself
“The blows were coming on the head. asserted
blows → come → head
Immediately my hand went to the knob which opens the door and [I was] screaming for my colleagues, screaming his name. asserted
I → go → name
I believe that was the first time when I lost my consciousness.” asserted
I → believe → consciousness
Flight FZ1073 was in Saudi airspace when the co-pilot attacked Machchhar with a crash axe, an item typically kept in the cockpit for emergency use. asserted
pilot → attack → use
The incident caused the airliner to plunge 16,000 ft (4,900m) in 30 seconds before the attacker was overwhelmed and two other pilots who were on board landed the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia. asserted
who → cause → Arabia
The suspect, an Omani national, was transferred to the UAE, flydubai’s home country. asserted
suspect → transfer → UAE
The plan was inspired by the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US, UAE public prosecutors said as a result of their criminal investigation, which was launched on 1 October. asserted
which → inspire → October
Machchhar said he heard the cockpit door opening and screaming “between my colleague and the guy”. asserted
door → say → colleague
He said the scariest thing he felt was the aircraft nose “steeply going down”. asserted
nose → say → ?
“I was not very sure that I’ll make it out alive from this. asserted
I → make → this
Did I give up? asserted
I → give → ?
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