'Part of our team': Sheikh Hamdan hails flydubai pilot after hospital visit

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, on Saturday offered the nation's "full appreciation and praise" to hero flydubai pilot, Capt Smit Machchhar, during a hospital visit.

Sheikh Hamdan said the pilot - who is receiving care in Abu Dhabi after being attacked by his co-pilot on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday - "embodied the highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life".

Capt Smit Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door after he was struck with a crash axe, letting in crew members and passengers to help avert disaster as the plane plunged thousands of feet.

A small group of passengers and a reserve pilot overpowered the co-pilot, steadied the plane and managed to land the Boeing 737 in Tabuk, north-western Saudi Arabia.

"From us, and from the leadership of the nation, he has our full appreciation and praise," Sheikh Hamdan said.

"We are proud that he is part of our team. Part of the story of our nation and part of what the UAE stands for.

During a visit to Captain Smit Machchhar… the flydubai pilot who embodied the highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life.

From us, and from the leadership of the nation, he has our full appreciation and praise.

We are proud that he is part of our… pic.twitter.com/QgpQxdcK5C

— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) October 3, 2026

"A nation of compassion, a nation of peace and a nation of life."

Hamad Al Shamsi, the UAE's attorney general, said on Saturday that investigations had revealed the co-pilot attacked the captain on the flight deck using a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft.

A crash axe is typically kept in a plane cockpit for use during emergencies.

The attorney general said the co-pilot – whose name and nationally has not been disclosed by UAE authorities – had “attempted to carry out a terrorist act”.

The attorney general said investigations were continuing to establish the full circumstances and motives behind the incident, including examining and analysing physical and digital evidence.