New footage from inside flydubai flight FZ1073 has captured the frantic moments that unfolded after passengers and crew intervened to stop what appeared to be an attempt by the Omani co-pilot to crash the aircraft. The flight was travelling from the United Arab Emirates to Israel when chaos erupted inside the cabin after the co-pilot allegedly stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot.
Filmed on a phone from a seat close to the cockpit, the video captures people shouting in both English and Hebrew as they tried to understand what had happened. At one point, a passenger can be heard saying, “He tried to crash the plane,” apparently referring to the co-pilot. The footage was also aired by Israel’s Channel 12, offering a glimpse into the confusion inside the aircraft as passengers and crew rushed to respond.
Passengers rush to control the chaos
As people gathered around the cockpit, one person can be heard asking those inside to “relax” before saying, “go out, take him out.” At the same time, passengers in the cabin were told to “sit down” as the situation continued to unfold.
Then came another urgent call. A person who appears to be a crew member asked, “Doctor, is there a doctor?”
After several calls for medical help, Dr Shota Musayev, an Israeli dentist, appears near the cockpit. He can be heard saying something in Hebrew. The camera, however, does not provide a clear view of what was happening inside the cockpit itself.
Captain Smit Machchhar seen covered in blood
The footage then cuts to a shocking scene outside the cockpit. Captain Machchhar is seen lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
Despite his injuries, he can be heard explaining what happened. He says the co-pilot “hit” him “so many times”. Machchhar then says he can move his injured hand but is unable to squeeze it shut.
Machchhar had earlier managed to open the cockpit door despite being wounded. That action allowed passengers and crew to enter the cockpit and intervene, helping prevent further danger to the 174 people on board.
The video also captures a man speaking in Hebrew about the attacker. “This is who wanted to stab [the pilot],” he says, before correcting himself: “this is who did stab him, not wanted to,” according to the translation cited in a Times of Israel report.
Copilot restrained after emergency landing
The footage later shifts to the aftermath of the aircraft’s emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Medics can be seen treating Machchhar on a raised platform outside the aircraft door.
Inside the plane, passengers and crew can be heard calling for the police. They insist that the co-pilot must remain on board until officers arrive to take him away.
“No one will release him,” a Hebrew speaker declares as the co-pilot is seen on his knees, with his hands bound behind his back.
The tension remains evident. “This is a terrorist, you understand, yes? We need police,” one Flydubai crew member says in English. Another person adds, “He cannot go anywhere. He is here with us.”
The wounded attacker is then seen sitting on the floor of the aircraft, facing a wall after being restrained. His uniform appears to be covered in blood, while several crew members remain around him.
Machchhar taken away by medics
The video closes with another glimpse of Captain Machchhar. He is covered in bandages as medics prepare to take him away for treatment.
The new footage has emerged as authorities continue investigating the co-pilot and what led to the incident. He has since been transferred from Saudi custody to the UAE.
Abu Dhabi has said it is investigating “whether the incident was linked to any terrorist activity or purpose or involved prior planning or direction.”
The investigation is continuing, while the newly surfaced footage offers a dramatic look at the moments of confusion, intervention and medical response inside the flight after the cockpit attack.
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