Flydubai attack: Late cricketer’s son among pilots who landed jet after Indian captain’s fight

Henson Steven of Fiji and Rowan Tooth of South Africa took the controls after a co-pilot attacked the captain with an axe. A month later, their names are public for the first time.

4 min readNov 1, 2026 07:09 AM IST First published on: Nov 1, 2026 at 07:09 AM IST

Henson Steven and Rowan Tooth, the two pilots who landed the damaged Flydubai aircraft in Saudi Arabia. (Photo: X/ @ynetnews)

Two pilots who landed a damaged Flydubai plane in Saudi Arabia after an attempted terror attack on board have been named, according to Ynet News. They are Henson Steven from Fiji and Rowan Tooth from South Africa. Both were on the Boeing 737 as extra crew, ready to fly the return leg of the trip, when the co-pilot turned on the captain in the cockpit on September 30.

Their names came out on Tuesday, October 27, when the UAE gave them its First Class Order of Zayed II. The captain, Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot who was badly hurt in the attack, got the same award. Until now, the identity of Machchhar and the part played by Israeli passengers had drawn most of the attention. The two pilots who brought the jet down safely had stayed out of public view.

Who are the two pilots

Early accounts had placed one of the men in New Zealand. The ceremony showed he is from Fiji.

Steven used to work for Fiji Airways. Tooth, whose name was first reported by South African media, worked for the South African airline Airlink before he joined Flydubai in 2023. He is the son of Barry Tooth, a former South African cricketer who died last year, Ynet said.

How the attack unfolded

Flight FZ1073 was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30. Ynet said the co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami from Oman, hit Machchhar on the head with an emergency axe kept in the cockpit.

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The captain was struck several times. He lost a lot of blood and his sight was blurred, but he still opened the cockpit door. That let passengers and crew come in. Israeli passengers overpowered the co-pilot and tied him with headphone cables.

The Times of Israel reported that the plane fell 16,000 feet (4,900 metres) in 30 seconds and that the rudder was damaged. Steven and Tooth then went into the cockpit, took control and steadied the jet. They flew it to Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely. A replacement plane later took the passengers to Tel Aviv.

UAE honours three pilots

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, gave out the medals. The First Class Order of Zayed II is one of the highest civilian awards in the UAE. It is usually given to diplomats and senior officials.

UAE President confers the First Class Order of Zayed II on the flydubai crew members involved in September’s in-flight incident, in recognition of their courageous efforts to ensure the safety of passengers. The honours were presented by Hamdan bin Mohammed, who commended the crew’s actions and sense of responsibility.

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) October 27, 2026

Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, wrote on X that the award was a national recognition of the crew’s courage. He added that “protecting human life is the highest duty”.

يجسّد تكريم صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن زايد آل نهيان، رئيس الدولة، حفظه الله، لطاقم "فلاي دبي" بوسام زايد الثاني من الطبقة الأولى تقديراً رفيعاً لما أظهروه من شجاعة وبسالة ورباطة جأش في حماية أرواح المسافرين. بطولة مشرّفة تؤكد أن صون حياة الإنسان أسمى الواجبات وأرفع صور العطاء. https://t.co/sgaKXbI1kk

— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) October 27, 2026

Machchhar came to the ceremony in uniform, one month after the attack. His left arm was in a sling and the scars on his scalp could still be seen.

A moment from the event spread widely online. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan looked at the captain’s head wounds and asked how long recovery would take. Machchhar said about two more months. The president joked that they should meet after that for a training session, where he would teach the pilot how to fight. Machchhar laughed and said it would be an honour.