The latest official finding identifies a crash axe, not a smuggled knife, as the weapon used against Indian captain Smit Machchhar aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073. The UAE Attorney-General said on October 3 that the copilot attacked the captain inside the flight deck and attempted to take control of the aircraft.
This answers a question raised by the first reports: how could someone take a blade onto an international flight? The evidence now points to misuse of an emergency tool already carried aboard the aircraft. Public findings have not established that the copilot brought a separate knife through airport screening.
What did the UAE investigation establish?
Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi described the incident as an attempted terrorist act and said the copilot began carrying out his plan during the flight. His statement specifically identified a crash axe as the weapon.
The investigation continues into the circumstances, motives and any related connections. Technical examinations and analysis of physical and digital evidence are still underway. The official description of an attempted terrorist act does not settle every question about planning or outside involvement.
Why was a crash axe inside the aircraft?
A crash axe is aviation emergency equipment. It is intended to help flight crew gain access or break through obstructions during an emergency. It is carried for safety purposes, rather than as a passenger’s personal possession.
The UAE’s published commercial air transport regulations contain a provision, CAT.IDE.A.255, requiring at least one crash axe or crowbar in the flight crew compartment of aircraft exceeding specified weight or passenger-seat thresholds. Comparable European rules include the same requirement. A Boeing 737 passenger jet falls well within the class of large aircraft for which emergency equipment is required.
Equipment authorised as part of an aircraft’s emergency inventory is different from an item a traveller tries to bring in hand luggage. Its presence therefore does not, on its own, demonstrate a failure to detect a prohibited knife at a security checkpoint.
How could the copilot get access?
The alleged attacker was a member of the flight crew, working inside the flight deck. That is the essential distinction: he already had authorised access to the compartment where emergency equipment is normally carried.
The public account does not provide a complete reconstruction of how he retrieved the axe or the exact sequence of every action. Those details should not be invented. The supported explanation is that an authorised crew member allegedly turned an onboard safety tool into a weapon.
What happened to Captain Smit Machchhar?
Passenger accounts describe the injured captain opening the cockpit door, enabling intervention by people aboard. Crew and passengers subdued the alleged attacker, and a reserve pilot travelling on the flight subsequently landed the aircraft in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Machchhar has been receiving treatment in the UAE. During a hospital video call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he described fighting for his life and realising that getting back up was essential to protect the passengers.
How did the flight emergency unfold?
Flight-tracking data provides a clearer outline of the aircraft’s movements than viral clips alone. The following times are UTC.
| Time, September 30 | Recorded event |
|---|---|
| 03:05 | FZ1073 departed Dubai for Tel Aviv. |
| 05:21 | A sharp descent began, followed by substantial altitude changes. |
| 05:28:48 | The aircraft transmitted the general emergency code 7700. |
| 05:35 | The code changed to 7500, signalling unlawful interference. |
| 06:58 | The final received tracking message corresponded with the safe landing in Tabuk. |
An emergency code helps communicate the situation to air traffic control. It does not identify an attacker’s motive or prove a connection to a foreign government.
Who is the accused copilot?
Reporting identifies him as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national. At the time of the October 3 reporting, Emirati authorities and Flydubai had not publicly confirmed his name. His alleged actions are subject to the continuing investigation and legal process.
What questions remain unanswered?
The inquiry still needs to establish the complete sequence, the motive, any outside direction and potential shortcomings in crew vetting. The presence of a required emergency tool explains how a weapon could be available onboard; it does not resolve how the danger developed or whether earlier warning signs were missed.
The key correction is clear: the latest UAE account says the attack involved a crash axe inside the flight deck. Describing it as a proven case of a knife being smuggled past airport security would misrepresent the available evidence.
Read also: Flydubai conspiracy theories and confirmed facts.