While Smit Machchhar is rightly being lauded as a hero, the curious thing is that the name of the Omani copilot responsible for this attempt to hijack or crash the aircraft has been withheld.
His name and face should have been splashed all over the international media. This was not done and it therefore raises legitimate suspicion.
Is it possible that his involvement could expose some powerful entity? Could it point to a blatant intelligence failure that would have left certain powers shamefaced? Could it be that he may have revealed things that could prove severely damaging to certain vested interests? asks Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Key Points
- An Omani co-pilot on Flydubai Flight 1073 assaulted the Indian captain mid-air, attempting to hijack or crash the aircraft, leading to a dangerous loss of altitude.
- The flight, bound for Tel Aviv, suggests a potential target of high-visibility structures in Israel, with 150 Israeli passengers onboard facing certain death.
- The captain, Smit Machchhar, along with passengers and two off-duty pilots, bravely intervened, diverting the plane to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and landing safely despite the captain's injuries.
- The withholding of the Omani co-pilot's name and face raises suspicions about potential exposure of powerful entities, intelligence failures, or damaging revelations.
- The incident highlights critical questions regarding airport security, the possibility of eased checks for crew, and the detection of radicalisation among aviation personnel.
The Flydubai Flight 1073 incident of September 30, 2026, is shocking and deplorable.
It has shaken the confidence of air travel worldwide as the happenings onboard this flight could be replicated anywhere around the globe.
To briefly recap the incident, the Omani co-pilot of the flight assaulted the Indian captain of the aircraft in mid-air, in an attempt to take control of the aircraft and either hijack it or crash it somewhere.
This resulted in a dangerous loss of height of almost 17,000 feet before the aircraft could be brought under control.
The aim of any such nefarious act is to terrorise people and convey a message to some entity.
In this case, that entity is absolutely clear -- it is the Israeli leadership, without a doubt.
Further, the flight was bound for Ben Gurion airport at Tel Aviv.
Therefore, the possibility that the design was to crash the plane into some high-visibility structure in Tel Aviv was extremely high.
The 150 Israeli passengers onboard would have faced certain death if his plan had succeeded. That the matters turned out the way they did is sheer providence.
Heroic Actions, Unanswered Questions
Thanks to the brave fight-back by the captain of the aircraft, Smit Machchhar, his success in opening the cockpit door that permitted others to intervene, the unusual tale of a passenger who tried to level the aircraft with some success as a result of watching serials on the Net; and the propitious presence of two other qualified pilots onboard as passengers, the entire lot of passengers and crew lived to see another day.
The plane diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia and landed safely, minus the rudder, thanks to one of those pilots who handled the aircraft as the captain was injured and the copilot was overpowered by the crew and passengers.
While the pilot is rightly being lauded as a hero, the curious thing is that the name of the Omani copilot responsible for this attempt to hijack or crash the aircraft has been withheld.
His name and face should have been splashed all over the international media. This was not done and it therefore raises legitimate suspicion.
Is it possible that his involvement could expose some powerful entity? Could it point to a blatant intelligence failure that would have left certain powers shamefaced? Could it be that he may have revealed things that could prove severely damaging to certain vested interests? Big, big question marks.
Security Lapses and Radicalisation Concerns
The UAE government has ordered an investigation and has agreed to have the Israelis participate in it.
Open sources indicate that Israel and Oman do not have diplomatic relations.
There is therefore, reasonable doubt whether Omani pilots are permitted to be employed on Flydubai flights to Israel.
Was any such important stipulation overlooked? Surely, this cannot be a random lapse.
If it was indeed a lapse, how and why did it take place?
How is it that such a provision, if it exists, was unknown to the captain of the aircraft flying the UAE-Israel route?
Is there any informal arrangement between UAE and Israel, barring Omani crew? Even if it is so, it is totally unfair to the captain who needs to know everything, being in command of the plane.
Had he known, the incident may never have taken place.
Also, the captain was stabbed multiple times by the copilot with some sharp bladed object.
Nowhere is a knife explicitly mentioned. No pilot, crewmember or passenger is permitted in the air-side of any airport without stringent physical and baggage x-ray checks.
Were these deliberately eased for this Omani copilot? If yes, it stinks of subversion of airport security authorities.
Could huge sums of money have changed hands? Alternatively, it could be the crash axe, normally available in the aircraft cockpit as part of emergency gear.
The investigation should bring this out. Some reports suggest that the Omani copilot was religiously radicalised.
How is it that it has come to light after such a serious incident? Radicalisation does not happen overnight.
There are signs that appear but nobody seems to have noticed any signs.
A normal person till yesterday becomes a radicalised person today -- such a premise is absurd.
This gives even greater credence of theories of conspiracy, collusion and errors of commission.
The greatest casualty is the betrayal of trust and depletion of passenger confidence.
Restoring Confidence in Air Travel
Will pilots and copilots regard each other with suspicion hereafter since many of them meet for the first time in a cockpit? Airlines and airports around the globe will need much more stringent security procedures and antecedent checks, particularly for pilots and crew, who may sometimes have easier access than normal passengers.
They must be subjected to continuing scrutiny by State intelligence agencies, given the widespread religious and ideological hatred to which the world is witness.
Only public transparency about the investigation findings and total disclosure of remedies to prevent recurrence can restore this shattered confidence.
The signs are clear and ominous. If they are not read and acted upon with urgency, the world must brace for much worse in the near future.
Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd) is a former commander-in-chief of the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
