The coming together of Israeli passengers, an Indian pilot, and a UAE crew to save the 172 people on board the flydubai plane that an Omani co-pilot had allegedly been trying to crash represents a regional axis of three nations against terrorism, mused the Israeli Foreign Ministry in a post on X.
“The jihadist terrorist wanted to crash the Dubai-TLV flight and murder everyone on board. Instead, he was met by courageous Israeli passengers who fought back – alongside an Indian pilot and an Emirati crew determined to save the aircraft. Israelis, Emiratis, and Indians standing together against terror. That is the future of our region and the world,” it wrote.
The jihadist terrorist wanted to crash the Dubai-TLV flight and murder everyone on board. Instead, he was met by courageous Israeli passengers who fought back – alongside an Indian pilot & Emirati crew determined to save the aircraft. Israelis, Emiratis, Indians standing together against terror. That is the future of our region and the world. 🇮🇱🇦🇪🇮🇳
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 4, 2026
Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, attacked the Indian flight captain, Smit Machchhar, with a crash axe inside the cockpit. The Indian pilot fought back.
Also read: flydubai Crew Asked To Free Co-Pilot? Passengers Say “Only To Cops” In Video
As the plane dangerously lost altitude, the seriously injured pilot showed remarkable presence of mind and opened the cockpit door, allowing Israeli passengers to come in and subdue the attacker. Two off-duty pilots steadied the aircraft and landed it safely.
Machchhar was rushed to a hospital and is recuperating. He is out of danger. Several world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Donald Trump, have praised the pilot for his heroic actions.
The incident has raised many questions concerning the background of the Omani pilot.
The pilot had been barred from flying by his own country because of extremist views but was allowed to work for flydubai.
The authorities are probing how a citizen of Oman, a nation with which Israel doesn’t have diplomatic relations, was allowed to fly to Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu said last week that Israel has agreements with carriers to prevent pilots from flying into the country if they are citizens of nations that don’t maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.
The incident took place days after the UAE hosted Netanyahu in the Emirates.
Abu Dhabi acknowledged a meeting between Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Netanyahu, a leader widely seen in the Muslim world as the face of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Also read: “We Don’t Do Background Checks”: Israeli Ministry Amid flydubai Probe
The two sides discussed bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel and “ways to strengthen and develop them”.
Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli Prime Minister visited the nation after being invited by the UAE President.
The meeting lasted six hours and reportedly focused on Iran.
The UAE, a US ally, is one of the few Arab nations that established ties with Israel after signing the Abraham Accords in 2020.
