{
  "id": 15463719,
  "title": "Captain of flydubai plane describes blocking axe blows as co-pilot attacked",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/captain-of-flydubai-plane-describes-blocking-axe-blows-as-co-pilot-15463719",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-18T17:46:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Al-Monitor",
    "slug": "al-monitor",
    "url": "https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/10/captain-flydubai-plane-describes-blocking-axe-blows-co-pilot-attacked"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Captain Smit Machchhar has been credited with averting a disaster on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv last month. According to Al-Monitor, the UAE attorney general described the incident as an attempted suicide attack by a co-pilot who intended to crash the aircraft into Ben Gurion Airport.\n\nIn an interview with The National, Machchhar described defending himself from axe blows directed at his head. Dawn reports that Machchhar initially believed the first blow was caused by a malfunction in the aircraft structure before realizing he was under attack. He stated that he freed himself from his seat belts and attempted to block the blows, which resulted in wounds to his arm.\n\nMachchhar said he reached for the cockpit door knob and screamed for help before losing consciousness. The aircraft, identified by Dawn and Investing.com as flight FZ1073, was in Saudi airspace when the attack occurred.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 8,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Investing.com",
        "title": "Captain of flydubai plane describes blocking axe blows as co-pilot attacked",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/captain-of-flydubai-plane-describes-blocking-axe-blows-as-co-pilot",
        "published": "2026-10-18T16:48:21.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Jerusalem Post",
        "title": "Captain of flydubai plane describes blocking axe blows as co-pilot attacked",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/captain-of-flydubai-plane-describes-blocking-axe-blows-as-co-pilot-15463109",
        "published": "2026-10-18T18:22:32.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Dawn",
        "title": "'Was not sure I'll make it out alive': Captain of flydubai flight to Tel Aviv recalls blocking axe blows from co-pilot",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/was-not-sure-ill-make-it-out-alive-captain-of-flydubai-flight-to-tel",
        "published": "2026-10-18T18:30:41.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Arutz Sheva - Israel National News",
        "title": "Bomb threat forces Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna to divert to Sofia",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/bomb-threat-forces-austrian-airlines-flight-from-tel-aviv-to-vienna",
        "published": "2026-10-18T19:14:33.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Sky News",
        "title": "Flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna makes emergency landing after bomb threat",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/flight-from-tel-aviv-to-vienna-makes-emergency-landing-after-bomb",
        "published": "2026-10-18T19:45:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna makes emergency landing in Bulgaria after bomb threat",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/flight-from-tel-aviv-to-vienna-makes-emergency-landing-in-bulgaria",
        "published": "2026-10-18T20:29:39.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Ajel English",
        "title": "Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv makes emergency landing in Bulgaria after bomb threat",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/austrian-airlines-flight-from-tel-aviv-makes-emergency-landing-in",
        "published": "2026-10-18T22:56:16.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}