{
  "id": 15330520,
  "title": "'You can't die like this': flydubai pilot recalls axe attack in cockpit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/you-cant-die-like-this-flydubai-pilot-recalls-axe-attack-in-cockpit",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-18T01:50:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/10/1557997/you-cant-die-flydubai-pilot-recalls-axe-attack-cockpit"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Indian pilot Smit Machchhar recounted the traumatic experience of an axe attack by his co-pilot during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv to Sky News Arabia. The attacker, a 29-year-old Omani man, allegedly intended to carry out a suicide attack on Ben Gurion Airport, inspired by the 9/11 attacks. Machchhar, who suffered injuries to his head and hand, described the harrowing ordeal, saying he thought to himself, \"You can't die like this,\" as he and other crew members struggled to survive. The co-pilot, acting alone according to the Emirati attorney general's findings, was eventually subdued by the other pilot, a crew member, and the passengers, allowing the plane to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.",
  "summary": "DUBAI: The captain of a flydubai flight whose co-pilot attacked him with an axe in an alleged bid to bring down the plane said one thought kept running through his head as the harrowing ordeal unfolded: “You can’t die like this.”",
  "key_points": [
    "Indian pilot Smit Machchhar recounts axe attack by co-pilot",
    "Co-pilot, 29-year-old Omani man, intended suicide attack",
    "Plane emergency lands in Saudi Arabia after subduing attacker"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}