Indian pilot survives axe attack by co‑pilot, lands plane safely in Saudi Arabia

Indian pilot Smit Machchhar survived a violent axe attack by his co‑pilot Hammam al‑Hammami on a flydubai Boeing 737 bound for Tel Aviv on September 30, and safely landed the aircraft in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

What Happened

The flight was cruising normally when al‑Hammami said he wanted to pray and stood up in the cockpit. Machchhar tried to focus on his instruments and did not watch the co‑pilot. He then felt a hard blow to the back of his head, later identified as a crash axe. The pilot was hit more than once, lost vision briefly and drifted in and out of consciousness. Despite bleeding and pain, he forced himself to stay awake, opened the cockpit door and ordered cabin crew, passengers and off‑duty pilots to restrain al‑Hammami. The plane descended rapidly but Machchhar kept control and executed an emergency landing at Tabuk. All 180 passengers and crew evacuated safely.

Reaction

UAE authorities opened an investigation treating the incident as an attempted hijacking and arrested al‑Hammami. The co‑pilot had previously been barred from flying in Oman for extremist views, and two other flydubai pilots were later arrested in Dubai for suspected terror links. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump called Machchhar a hero. He was taken to hospital with injuries to his head, neck and hands and later spoke to Netanyahu from his bedside, saying “I can’t accept my death” and calling his survival a miracle.

Context

Axe attacks inside aircraft cabins are extremely rare, but the case highlights how extremist sympathies can slip past airline vetting and the importance of passenger and crew intervention in stopping hijacking attempts.