A FlyDubai co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of a Tel Aviv-bound flight had earlier been barred from flying in Oman amid concerns he had adopted extremist views, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The co-pilot was later hired by the Dubai-based carrier despite that restriction, the person said. It is not clear how thoroughly he was screened before joining the airline. The Wall Street Journal first reported the Omani ban. Authorities are still investigating the incident, which forced a Boeing 737 carrying 182 people to make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
The disclosure sharpens questions about cockpit security and airline vetting as investigators reconstruct what happened more than two hours into the journey. The aircraft dropped suddenly to about 16,600 feet. A passenger near the front said people heard a struggle in the cockpit shortly before the descent. The plane later climbed to about 21,725 feet, then descended again to around 15,000 feet and held that altitude until it landed safely.
The captain, Smit Machchhar, was wounded in the attack. He was transferred from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates and is recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital. In a televised video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Machchhar said he had been fighting for his life.
“I had so many wounds. I had fallen down. I was fighting for my life. At one point, I realized that if I didn’t get up … then passengers would lose their lives,” he said.
Machchhar eventually opened the cockpit door. Passengers entered, restrained the co-pilot on the cabin floor and bound his hands with headphones. A dentist travelling on the aircraft treated the injured captain. The flight carried 174 passengers and eight crew members, most of them Israelis.
Passenger Daniel Schlichter said the descent was terrifying, especially for children on board. “One of the things that I will never forget is the shouting of the children. I could hear the children shouting, ‘We don’t want to die! We don’t want to die!’”
The United Arab Emirates has suspended flights to Israel, interrupting travel that grew after the two countries established diplomatic ties in 2020 under the Abraham Accords. Israel and the UAE have arranged repatriation flights for passengers stranded in the Emirates. The first left the UAE late Friday and landed in Tel Aviv shortly after 1 a.m.
Emirati authorities are leading the inquiry, with Israeli investigators taking part, according to an official familiar with the matter. The official said it was not yet clear whether the co-pilot was acting with others, and that there was currently no evidence linking the incident to Iran.
US President Donald Trump said early information he had received suggested a possible connection to Tehran, without giving details, and warned that the United States would respond forcefully if Iranian agents were found responsible. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the co-pilot as having undergone “Islamist radicalisation,” but has not presented evidence for the claim.
UAE senior diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash called the incident a “dangerous terrorist act” and credited the captain with preventing a larger disaster.
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