Flight FZ 1073 diverted to Tabuk after violent altercation on the flight deck; UAE and regional agencies probe mid-air incident
DUBAI, Oct. 2, 2026 : Flydubai Chief Executive Officer Ghaith Al Ghaith praised the captain, flight crew, and passengers on Friday for their composure in averting a catastrophe after a violent flight deck confrontation forced a Tel Aviv-bound Boeing 737 MAX 8 to divert to Saudi Arabia.
Flight FZ 1073 departed Dubai International Airport on September 30 heading for Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv with more than 170 passengers and crew on board. Approximately an hour before its scheduled arrival, the aircraft plunged thousands of feet within minutes over Saudi airspace near the Jordanian border, prompting a transponder emergency alert before diverting to Tabuk Regional Airport.
A violent assault inside the flight deck left the aircraft commander, Smit Machchhar, seriously injured. Passengers and off-duty flydubai pilots travelling in the cabin intervened after Captain Machchhar managed to unlock the armored flight deck door from the floor while injured. Those on board restrained the first officer, allowing relief pilots to pull the aircraft out of a steep dive and make a safe landing at Tabuk.
“I want to express my deep gratitude to our Captain, the pilots who secured the aircraft and landed it safely, as well as our cabin crew,” Al Ghaith said in an official statement. “I extend our sincere gratitude to the passengers on board who assisted our crew during a challenging situation.”
Captain Machchhar received emergency medical treatment in Saudi Arabia before returning to the United Arab Emirates after obtaining medical clearance. In subsequent public remarks, Machchhar recalled fighting through critical injuries to release the door latch: “I had fallen to the ground. I told myself that the door is right there, just open it… I was of course fighting for my own life, but I also knew I couldn’t let all of them die.”
The airline confirmed it temporarily suspended scheduled operations to Tel Aviv at the request of authorities while official inquiries proceed. Flydubai teams have coordinated ongoing travel assistance to ensure stranded passengers reach their intended destinations.
Al Ghaith extended formal thanks to Saudi civil and security authorities for their immediate operational assistance upon landing in Tabuk, as well as UAE government bodies facilitating passenger repatriation.
A multi-jurisdictional inquiry is examining the sequence of events, security clearances, and the motive behind the flight deck attack. UAE Presidential Diplomatic Adviser Dr. Anwar Gargash publicly praised Captain Machchhar’s valor, calling the confrontation an extreme breach of flight safety.
The carrier emphasized that passenger and crew welfare remains its foremost operational priority while investigators establish the documented facts of the event.
