The world was rocked by the unbelievable scenes of courage, bravery and singular heroism of the pilot & the passengers of flydubai FZ-1073 on 30 September 2026, as they staved off an attempt by the co-pilot to crash the aircraft or, as some allege, perform a 9/11 type of attack on Israel.
The bravery of Captain Smit Machchar, as he was being hacked by his second-in-command, has passed into global aviation folklore and is something even seasoned pilots & and aviation professionals may never be able to comprehend.
But to be brutally attacked and stabbed with the aircraft crash axe or a knife (the actual details are still sketchy), and then set the transponders to 7700 and again to 7500 to warn the external world, speaks of a clarity of mind and singular purpose on the part of Captain Smit that is unthinkable.
In moments of personal danger, when the only eventuality is a certain death, human beings draw on their reservoirs of courage to do what the captain did.
Furthermore, the actions of Tali and Nina Manes warning the passengers of what was happening in the cockpit, the quick-fire response of Yaniv Hayoun, and the actions of the two reserve pilots, without a doubt, saved the lives of 174 passengers that day.
The flight-radar data have shocked the aviation world. How could a 737 descend that rapidly without breaking up or suffering major damage?
The pressure exerted by the “almost freefall” was many G’s more than the aircraft could withstand. Yet we saw how it landed battered and bruised.
The apparent act of the Israeli plumber Yaniv Hayoun, in pulling the yoke back and stabilising the aircraft, is out of an adventure comic, but we know it happened. How come none of the passengers suffered the injuries that we saw in the Air India Phuket flight or last year’s Singapore Airlines flight?
Was the fact that they were all buckled in, entering sterile airspace, the reason? We may never know, but let us wait for the reports to emerge.
But was this a false-flag operation? Only a naïve conspiracy theorist would believe that. This was a valiant rescue by a bunch of heroes. I have spoken to my Indian pilot friends who fly with flydubai, and they are as shaken up by this and proud of Smit as all of us are.
Is this kind of a rescue and recovery possible in normal circumstances? No, not at all. Even if it were simulated 100 times, it would fail 99/100 times, but it worked this one time, and they are all alive to tell the tale.
Sometimes it takes many miracles to save the day. This was one such day. If even one of the people in this chain of events had not acted, we would be mourning our dead today. Let us celebrate them all.
THE CO-PILOT ASSASSIN
Details have emerged that the co-pilot, Hammam Al-Hammami, was part-Syrian and was asked to leave Oman Air due to questionable behaviour. There are indications emerging that he was radicalised, and some officials in the UAE are being investigated.
What Went Wrong?
As much as I admire and love Israel, the Israelis will be the first to stand up, and analyse what exactly went wrong and single out the faults in their system that were exposed by this Omani co-Pilot, who almost caused the biggest act of aviation terror since 9/11.
Prima facie, the apparent failures include:
- A failure of APIS to track the system intruder.
- An apparent lack of advance intelligence of such a threat.
- A breach of bilateral ASA’s after the Abraham Accords.
The US first created APIS in 1989, but it was never made mandatory until 9/11.
Under APIS, all airlines forward detailed passenger and crew lists with passport numbers, visa numbers and details of travellers (crew and passengers) at least 24 hours in advance to be scrutinised by the Department of Homeland Security.
Israel is one such nation that follows the API system, and the NCPIA hub tracks all incoming passengers and crew. How did the Israeli NCPIA miss the warning signs of Captain Hammami? This will be investigated deeply and thoroughly.
There was apparently no known advance intelligence of such a plot or chatter on the networks, despite Israel and the USA being at war with Iran. Guards seem to have been lowered after the Abraham Accords, and I have a sense that there will be a thorough revaluation.
Post the Abraham Accords, the APIS stipulations are clear: crew belonging to any nation that refuses to recognise Israel, or that treats Israel as an enemy, are barred from flying into Israeli airspace, namely Oman, Syria and Iran. How did Hammami escape the dragnet despite having both Omani and Syrian connections?
THE FUTURE
Aviation changed inexorably after 9/11: reinforced steel doors, cockpit & crew protocols, and APIS became advanced screening tools. In the early days after 9/11, I recall days and flights when Pilots with Muslim names experienced delays in receiving clearance from Homeland Security, or extensive background checks were sought.
So, What Does 30/9 flydubai Hold for Us?
For one, we can expect detailed background checks of aviation personnel and APIS pre-authorisation to become stricter, perhaps with a restrictive list of pre-qualified pilots permitted to enter Israeli territory from Arab nations.
For the broader aviation world, a similar protocol would not be amiss, since we seem to have let our guard down. I expect Shin Bet, Mossad, and the NCPIA to have greater coordination with Arab, US and Indian intelligence networks and homeland security agencies to screen crew and travellers. The threat is real; a 9/11 or a 30/9 can happen any time again.
The dreaded CCTV (closed-circuit cockpit cameras) may come into the larger global discussion once more to ensure that protocols are followed to some degree and that there is a recording of what transpired.
I also believe that Israel will demand that more flights bring in sky marshals, and that security around flights departing for TLV be heightened.
The cockpit safety equipment (crash axe) is normally shielded and protected, so there will be a conversation about its use, the need for it and how to secure it.
Whilst airlines would love to reduce cockpit crew to one if they could, due to commercial considerations, in my view there must be a discussion about having an observer or a third occupant in the cockpit to safeguard the situation.
Regulators and politicians worldwide, especially in India, must learn and accept that pilots are the reason we land and take off safely.
We need to stop treating them like punching bags. India has the worst working conditions for pilots on earth, yet an Indian pilot (who escaped India’s aviation bureaucracy) made India, pilots, and aviation crews worldwide intensely proud.
In the end, aviation remains the safest mode of travel on Earth, and pilots are among the most misunderstood professionals. India and Israel are two ancient civilisations bound by blood and brotherhood. Thank you, Captain Smit Machchhar, Tali & Nina Manes, Yaniv and the two unnamed relief pilots; you made us believe in miracles again. Am Yisrael Chai, Jai Hind.
Sanjay Lazar is an Aviation Expert & CEO Avialaz Consultants. He is an aviation analyst, lawyer, & best-selling author who writes on aviation, International relations, leadership and law. He has spent 40 years in aviation and lost his entire family in the Air India Kanishka bombing in 1985.
