An Indian pilot identified as Captain Smit Machchhar was stabbed aboard a Flydubai flight traveling to Israel, according to BBC reporting. The incident occurred on flight FDB1073, and the captain has since been described as a hero.
Coverage cited by BBC indicates that the attack involved one pilot being stabbed by another, and that a passenger took control of the aircraft at some point during the emergency. The flight was bound for Israel when the situation unfolded.
Spanish outlet El Mundo quoted a passenger on the Flydubai flight who described the experience as terrifying, adding that those on board stayed calm. El Correo published a minute-by-minute account of what it called an attempted attack aboard flight FDB1073.
La Voz de Galicia framed the episode in stark terms, describing Israel as having come within 45 minutes of what it called another 9/11. That characterization is the outlet's own framing, not a confirmed finding.
RTVE summarized the sequence as a pilot stabbed by another pilot and a passenger who took the aircraft's controls, without offering further detail in the material available.
The reporting so far leaves central questions open, including the condition of Captain Machchhar, the identity and motive of the attacker, and the exact role the passenger played in the cockpit. BBC and other outlets have not provided those specifics in the summaries available.
Further official statements from Flydubai and Israeli authorities are expected to clarify the sequence of events and the status of those involved.
