{
  "id": 15465316,
  "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",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-18T18:30:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn",
    "slug": "dawn",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2038055/was-not-sure-ill-make-it-out-alive-captain-of-flydubai-flight-to-tel-aviv-recalls-blocking-axe-blows-from-co-pilot"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Captain Smit Machchhar, who survived a deadly attack on a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv, described the terrifying ordeal of defending himself against his co-pilot. In an interview from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, Machchhar recounted blocking the co-pilot's axe blows to his head while desperately trying to open the cockpit door. The incident occurred during flight FZ1073, which was en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the co-pilot launched an attack. Machchhar, whose head and left arm were injured in the attack, managed to reach the cockpit door knob and screamed for help. The aircraft plummeted 16,000 feet in just 30 seconds before the attacker was subdued and the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia. The suspect, an Omani national, was subsequently transferred to the UAE. Machchhar, who survived the attack, expressed uncertainty about whether he would have survived, stating, \"I was not very sure that I'll make it out alive from this.\"",
  "summary": "The captain of a flydubai flight who was attacked by a co-pilot who intended to crash the plane has described blocking axe blows to the head and screaming for help as he reached for a knob to open the cockpit door. Captain Smit Machchhar has been hailed as a hero for his role in averting disaster on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv last month, helping to thwart what the UAE attorney general has…",
  "key_points": [
    "Captain Smit Machchhar blocked co-pilot's axe blows during attack",
    "Flight FZ1073 en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv was targeted",
    "Aircraft plummeted 16,000 feet in 30 seconds before safe landing"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 7,
    "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": "Al-Monitor",
        "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",
        "published": "2026-10-18T17:46:30.000Z"
      },
      {
        "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": "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"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}