Defense Ministry recognizes flydubai passengers as victims of hostile incident

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Passengers from flydubai flight FZ1073, who survived an attempted terror attack, walk with their family members through the arrivals hall at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, September 30, 2026, after returning home on another flydubai flight. (Flash90)

Israeli passengers who were aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 on September 30 will be recognized as victims of a hostile incident, the Defense Ministry announces.

The flight was en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the copilot, Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, attacked the captain, Smit Machchhar, and attempted to crash the aircraft. The plane plunged thousands of feet before several Israeli passengers burst into the cockpit, whose door Machchhar had managed to open, immobilized the terrorist copilot and initially stabilized the plane.

“Following official confirmation from the authorized investigative bodies in the State of Israel, the Defense Ministry’s approving authority recognized the attempted attack on the ‘flydubai’ flight as a hostile incident,” the ministry says.

“The decision has been forwarded to the National Insurance Institute, which is in contact with those affected, for further handling.”