Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised flydubai Capt. Smit Machchhar during a Saturday call, after the Indian pilot—despite being seriously wounded in a terrorist attack by his co-pilot—opened the cockpit door, enabling passengers to overpower the assailant aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight.
“Captain, I want to invite you and my dear friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light a celebratory flame on our next Independence Day” in May 2027, the premier said in a video recording of the call published by his office, adding that Machchhar was a “true hero” and wishing him “a very speedy and complete recovery.”
Netanyahu said lighting an Independence Day flame is Israel’s “highest honor” and is usually reserved for Israeli citizens, but said Israelis would embrace Machchhar. The prime minister said he hoped to welcome the captain to Israel under “memorable and historic” circumstances.
Machchhar, who was being treated in an Emirati hospital when he spoke with Netanyahu, said the flight had been normal when the co-pilot asked to take a prayer break. Minutes later, the captain said, he was struck repeatedly in the back of the head. He initially believed the blows might reflect a problem with the aircraft before realizing that his co-pilot was attacking him.
Machchhar said he opened the cockpit door once, but the assailant shut it again. As the plane descended and passengers screamed, he made a final effort to reopen it, allowing passengers to enter the cockpit and subdue the terrorist.
The attacker was identified as Hamam al-Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani national and flydubai co-pilot. He was reportedly born in the United Arab Emirates to an Omani father and Syrian mother.
The UAE prosecutor general said on Saturday that on Sept. 30, al-Hammami attacked the captain of flydubai flight FZ1073, with 182 people on board, attempting to carry out a terrorist attack wielding a crash ax kept in the cockpit. The plane landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Emirati Prosecutor General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi was cited by the country’s state news agency as saying that the co-pilot used the ax to attack Machchhar and send the Boeing 737 MAX 8 into deep dive.
A crash ax is typically kept in the cockpit for emergency use.
The probe into flight FZ1073, led by the UAE, is ongoing and the findings will be released once the “necessary procedures” have been finalized, the prosecutor general said.
Authorities have not publicly said whether al-Hammami acted alone or had ties to a terrorist organization or foreign government.
