Heroic passengers and pilot thwart terror attack on Dubai-Tel Aviv flight

On September 30, a terrorist attack on a Dubai-Tel Aviv Flydubai flight was thwarted by the heroic actions of the captain and passengers, marking one of the luckiest outcomes in aviation history. The Omani pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, deliberately put the plane into a dive, losing over 4,000 meters in 30 seconds. He then attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar with an axe. Despite severe injuries, Machchhar opened the cockpit door, and three Israeli passengers subdued the attacker. The flight carried 177 passengers, mostly Israeli citizens. The attack occurred amid normalized UAE-Israel relations following the Abraham Accords. Omani authorities had reportedly flagged the pilot as radicalized.