October 2, 2026
The identity of the Flydubai flight captain who was stabbed on board the plane was revealed in an incident that led to its diversion towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, coinciding with the arrival of the passenger flight at Ben Gurion Airport and the return of all passengers to Israel after a day full of developments.
According to a report prepared by journalist Assaf Vaknin on the Israeli “Mako” website, based on sources quoted by the “India Today” network, the pilot of the plane is the Indian Smit Machhar, and that the Omani co-pilot was the one who stabbed him during the first’s attempt to confront him to control the course of events.
Available details indicate that the co-pilot stabbed Machhar and attempted to shoot down the plane, before other passengers and pilots on board intervened to help control him. Passengers and a crew member stormed the cockpit after “the plane entered a rotation and began its descent,” only to be surprised by the co-pilot trying to control the navigation systems.
Commander Machhar is an experienced pilot; He joined “Flydubai” in June 2022 through the direct recruitment path for aircraft captains, and before that he worked for about 11 years at “SpiceJet” (from June 2011 until 2022), in addition to having specialized experience in “Boeing 737” aircraft, and experience in the areas of safety, compliance with procedures, and guiding pilots.
On the official level, Israeli authorities confirmed that the two pilots were injured and taken to the hospital after the plane landed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described what happened as an “extremely dangerous security incident,” indicating that the Saudi authorities would investigate the co-pilot who was arrested after landing, while an Israeli official confirmed that the attacker had Omani citizenship.
