India’s National Investigation Agency, its anti-terrorism agency, registered a case on October 9 over an attack aboard a flydubai flight. The investigation concerns the alleged stabbing of an Indian captain during the September 30 Dubai–Tel Aviv service. The government directed the agency to investigate a possible wider conspiracy.

Passengers and crew restrained the co-pilot

Flight FZ1073 left Dubai with 174 passengers and six crew members, according to the agency’s First Information Report, or FIR. Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, was operating the aircraft with an Omani first officer.

The FIR says passengers reported that the first officer stabbed Machchhar inside the cockpit. They described the assault as an apparent attempt to hijack the aircraft or cause it to crash. Machchhar suffered deep cuts to his head and hands.

Passengers and crew overpowered and restrained the first officer, according to the FIR. Other pilots aboard then landed the aircraft safely at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities arrested the first officer after the landing.

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India investigates a possible wider conspiracy

The case was registered at the direction of India’s Home Ministry, officials said. The government cited the attack on an Indian pilot and the suspected attempt to hijack or crash the aircraft. It also pointed to the gravity of the offence and its national and international implications.

The NIA invoked India’s Anti-Hijacking Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, an anti-terrorism law. Accounts differ on the precise provisions: one cites UAPA Section 16 with Section 15(1)(a), while another lists Sections 16, 18 and 20.

The first officer is identified as the accused in the FIR. The report does not establish a motive for the alleged attack or identify additional participants in a conspiracy.

UAE prosecutor describes alleged plan

UAE Attorney-General Dr Hamad Saif Al Shamsi gave a separate account of the alleged intentions on October 6. According to an Indian news report, he said investigators had identified a plan to seize the aircraft. The alleged aim was to crash it into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs said Machchhar was improving after surgery at a hospital in Abu Dhabi. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian embassy remained in contact with his family, doctors, hospital officials and local authorities.