Dubai crown prince visits Flydubai captain after cockpit knife attack forced emergency landing

A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after its first officer attacked the captain with a knife.

• Captain Smit Machar was stabbed by the Omani first officer aboard flight FZ1073 at an altitude above 30,000 feet.
• The Boeing 737 Max transmitted squawk 7700, then 7500 for unlawful interference, before descending about 14,000 feet and diverting to Tabuk.
• Both pilots were taken to hospital; the aircraft carried about 180 people on the Dubai–Tel Aviv route.
• Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid visited Machar, saying he showed "the highest degrees of courage and responsibility."
• UAE Prosecutor-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi announced the co-pilot's actions were the start of a terrorist operation aboard the flight.
• Royal Air Maroc denied the first officer had ever worked for it, saying he applied in 2025 but was not selected.
• The UAE Attorney General said the officer attacked the captain with an emergency axe and tried to seize control of the aircraft.
• After the Tabuk diversion, the injured crew flew to Abu Dhabi accompanied by an Emirati security team.
• Australian security agencies, including ASIO and federal police, are investigating the co-pilot's time as a student in Australia.
• Media identified the Omani co-pilot as Hammam al-Hammami, who held an Australian student visa from 2014 to 2017.
• Flydubai suspended its Dubai–Tel Aviv flights pending an ongoing investigation into the cockpit attack.