New Delhi: An Indian national and former SpiceJet pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, has been identified in media reports as the captain involved in a dramatic cockpit altercation aboard a Flydubai flight that was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The Flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 was operating flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv when an altercation reportedly broke out between the captain and the co-pilot. The aircraft, carrying around 180 passengers and crew, subsequently diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia and landed safely.
According to media reports, Machchhar was attacked by the co-pilot during the flight and helped prevent the situation from escalating. However, the exact sequence of events and the circumstances that led to the confrontation remain under investigation.
Flydubai confirmed that an “altercation occurred in the flight deck” of flight FZ1073. The airline said the aircraft was “successfully secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight”, following which it was diverted to Tabuk Airport and landed safely. Both pilots were reportedly injured and taken to hospital.
Flight-tracking data indicated that the aircraft underwent a sharp descent during the incident. Reports based on the tracking information said the Boeing 737 MAX 8 descended from around 34,000 feet to below 20,000 feet within a short period before the crew regained control and diverted the aircraft towards Tabuk.
The incident also triggered initial fears of a possible hijacking after the aircraft transmitted emergency signals, including the 7500 transponder code associated with unlawful interference. Israeli fighter jets were reportedly scrambled following the alert as authorities responded to the situation.
Passenger accounts suggested that there were moments of panic inside the aircraft during the confrontation. One passenger told reporters that the aircraft appeared to be out of control and alleged that passengers intervened to help restrain the co-pilot. A doctor travelling on the flight also reportedly provided first aid to those injured.
Flydubai said it had arranged two replacement aircraft at Tabuk to transport the passengers and crew onward to their destination. The airline has stressed that the underlying reasons and motives behind the cockpit altercation were not known at this stage and would be determined through a formal investigation.
(IANS)
