Dubai (AFP) – Indian captain Smit Machchhar, attacked with a knife by his co-pilot aboard a flydubai flight linking the Emirates to Israel, said he made a last-ditch effort to prevent the plane from crashing, in his first statements made public on Friday.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 1:44 p.m.

The plane, which was carrying 174 people - 166 Israelis and eight crew members, according to media reports - had to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, from where the passengers were returned to Israel the same evening.

The exact circumstances of the incident and the motivations, still unclear, of the attacker, are the subject of an investigation in the United Arab Emirates, where the two pilots were transferred.

The diplomatic adviser to the Emirati president, Anwar Gargash, on Friday pointed out a “serious terrorist act”, hailing the courage of Mr. Machchhar.

“I was trying to save my life, but I knew I couldn’t let all these people die,” the latter said from his hospital bed during a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose services relayed the sequence.

A pilot for 17 years and captain for 11 years, Smit Machchhar said he noticed that the aircraft was falling while he was lying injured in the cockpit, the door of which he managed to unlock, allowing the intervention of people on board to regain control of the aircraft.

“I knew it was my last chance and that the door was right there,” he said. “I was still getting beaten up, but I just opened the door and everyone came in.”

Mr. Modi said that his “immense courage” made it possible to avoid “a great tragedy”.

- "Dangers of extremism" -

Without waiting for the results of the investigations, Israel denounced an “attempted jihadist terrorist attack”, targeting in particular the Emirates and the Abraham Accords which normalized relations between the two countries in 2020.

According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the co-pilot, of Omani nationality, “had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination”. However, he did not rule out the possibility of an act linked to psychiatric problems.

“Far from hasty simplifications (...) and conspiracy theories, vigilance and caution remain essential in the face of the dangers of extremism and terrorism,” noted Anwar Gargash on X.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has announced his intention to award one of the country's highest civilian honors to five Israeli passengers who distinguished themselves by their "collective responsibility" in preventing the plane from crashing.

During an exchange with the press at the White House on Wednesday, Donald Trump said he thought Iran was involved.

“I would say the answer is yes, based on what I'm hearing, but we're working on that right now,” said the American president, no stranger to sweeping statements.

Flydubai called for “refrain from any premature speculation”.

Travelers stranded in Dubai

The company announced that it would suspend its flights to and from Israel during the investigation, stranding Israeli visitors in Dubai.

The Israeli company El Al, which had announced it would charter two special flights to repatriate them on Friday, reported in the morning the cancellation of these flights, without further details.

The Israeli Transport Ministry, for its part, declared that Israel could not set up special connections for the time being "due to the need to complete preparations and coordinate" with the Emirati authorities.

El Al suspended its flights between Israel and Dubai after the outbreak of war in the Middle East with Israeli-US strikes against Iran on February 28.

© 2026 AFP

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