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Pilot Subdued After Co-Pilot Stabbing Midflight to Israel

By Drooid · Oct 3, 2026, 7:58 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami stabbed captain Smit Machchhar on flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
The Boeing 737 with 174 passengers and eight crew dropped about 17,000 feet before landing at Tabuk Airport.
Captain Machchhar opened the cockpit door, letting passengers and two off-duty pilots subdue al-Hammami.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said al-Hammami underwent Islamist radicalisation and planned to crash the aircraft.

History

Historical Context

The 1976 Entebbe hijacking of Air France Flight 139, carried out by PFLP and German militants and rescued by 100 Israeli commandos on 4 July, left 102 hostages freed but saw Israeli hostage Dora Bloch murdered, prompting Britain to sever ties with Uganda. That legacy of aircraft-targeted terrorism informs the March 12 2024 cockpit attack by Hamam al-Hammami on a Boeing 737-800.

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Story summary

Co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami stabbed captain Smit Machchhar on flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
The Boeing 737 with 174 passengers and eight crew dropped about 17,000 feet before landing at Tabuk Airport.
Captain Machchhar opened the cockpit door, letting passengers and two off-duty pilots subdue al-Hammami.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said al-Hammami underwent Islamist radicalisation and planned to crash the aircraft.

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