Flydubai Incident LIVE Updates: Trump warns of ‘very hard’ response if Iran linked to flydubai incident
Indian pilot Smit Machchhar has been hailed as a hero for saving passengers after he was stabbed by his colleague in an alleged attempt to crash a flydubai plane on Wednesday. (Reuters/made changes using AI)
Flydubai Flight Incident LIVE Updates: Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot from Mumbai, is recovering in Saudi Arabia after his co-pilot stabbed him on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Israeli officials say the co-pilot, an Omani national, tried to crash the plane, which fell nearly 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds. Machchhar, badly hurt, opened the cockpit door, and passengers and crew overpowered the attacker. The plane then landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. India’s embassy in the UAE said on Thursday that he is in good health and recovering well. Investigators have not yet said why the attack happened.
Who is Smit Machchhar: Machchhar was born in Mumbai, where his parents still live. He is married and has two children, aged seven and two. He first trained to join his family’s textile business, but became interested in flying after an aviation seminar at 19, he said on a podcast last year. He later trained for 18 months in New Zealand, in 2008 and 2009. He had never left India before his first flight as a trainee pilot, and said his mother was scared about his choice of career. Neighbours in Mumbai told The Guardian they are proud of him.
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Who said what?
- PM Narendra Modi: The prime minister called Machchhar a hero in a post on X. He said the pilot showed “immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others” despite serious injuries. PM Modi added that his bravery helped save hundreds of lives.
- Benjamin Netanyahu: The Israeli prime minister called him a “true hero”. He said Machchhar fought back, opened the cockpit door and let passengers and crew stop the attacker. Netanyahu also told Fox News that the co-pilot had “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination”, but gave no evidence. He said the man used a loophole in rules that bar pilots from countries without ties to Israel from flying there.
- Donald Trump: The US president also called the pilot a hero. He said Machchhar was in very bad shape but had the sense to open the door and call for help.
Key updates
- Trump links Iran, with no proof: Asked if the co-pilot had ties to Iran, Trump said the answer was yes “based on what I’m hearing”, but that officials were still working on it. He gave no details or evidence. He said that if Iran is behind the attack, it will be “hit, very hard.”
- Netanyahu is more careful on Iran: He told CNN he could not yet say if Iran had any role and that this would be known after questioning. He said Iran sponsors a lot of such activity, but did not speak about this case.
- Suspect handed to the UAE: Saudi Arabia has handed over the accused co-pilot, who has not been named in public. The UAE prosecutor general has ordered an investigation, and the UAE says it is checking for any terror link.
- Investigation underway: UAE opens investigation to find out whether flydubai attack had terror motive
- Flights paused: Flydubai has stopped flights to and from Israel for now and urged people to avoid early guesses about the cause. France 24 also reports that Saudi Arabia turned down Israeli requests to send planes for the passengers.
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