10 October,2026 10:33 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
The NIA investigation comes amid findings announced by the United Arab Emirates. File Pic/PTI
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered a case to investigate the alleged mid-air attack on Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar aboard a Flydubai flight on September 30, officials said on Saturday, reported the ANI.
The incident involved the flight's Omani co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, who allegedly attacked Machchhar with an axe inside the cockpit in an attempt to seize control of the aircraft and bring it down.
Despite suffering severe injuries, Machchhar managed to unlatch the cockpit door, allowing passengers and off-duty crew members to enter and restrain the attacker, according to reports.
The aircraft, Flydubai Flight FZ1073, subsequently made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. All 180 occupants disembarked safely, with no injuries reported among them apart from those sustained by the captain during the incident.
The confrontation inside the cockpit triggered a steep descent, with the aircraft losing approximately 16,000 feet in altitude within two minutes.
A hijacking distress signal was subsequently transmitted before the aircraft was diverted to Tabuk for an emergency landing.
Machchhar is currently recovering in a hospital in Abu Dhabi after sustaining severe injuries in the attack.
The NIA investigation comes amid findings announced by the United Arab Emirates' Attorney-General, Dr Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, on Friday, as per the ANI.
According to the UAE state news agency WAM, the investigation found that the 29-year-old Omani co-pilot had allegedly planned a terrorist attack to seize control of the aircraft and crash it into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, with the intention of causing maximum casualties.
The alleged plot was to be carried out on September 30, during a flight scheduled to travel from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the Attorney-General said.
The allegations form part of the UAE investigation into the incident.
According to WAM, investigators examined the suspect's ideological and professional background and traced signs of his alleged radicalisation to 2017, when he was studying in Australia, according to the ANI.
During that period, he was reportedly influenced by extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks.
The UAE Attorney-General said the suspect subsequently adopted beliefs advocating violence and terrorism and drew inspiration from the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
According to the investigation findings reported by WAM, the idea of carrying out a similar attack using an aircraft had become firmly established in the suspect's thinking. The report also referred to his confession.
(with ANI inputs)
