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flydubai Flight 1073

A flydubai flight takes off from Ben Gurion Airport on September 30, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
Transportation Ministry delegation heads to Dubai for briefing on flydubai attack probe
By ToI Staff
Representatives to meet with local security and airport officials about investigation into September incident and arrangements for restarting flights by foreign and Israeli carriers
Passengers from Flydubai flight FZ1073 walk with their family members through the arrivals hall at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, after their original flight from Dubai to Israel was diverted to Saudi Arabia following a suspected terror attack, September 30, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
November 9, 2026, 7:17 pm
Defense Ministry recognizes flydubai passengers as victims of hostile incident
Determination grants survivors of terror attack rights and monetary compensation, six weeks after copilot attempted to crash plane full of Israelis heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv
By ToI Staff
Pilots Rowan Tooth (L) and Henson Steven, who helped land a flyDubai plane following a thwarted terror attack, receive honorary awards in Dubai, Untied Arab Emirates, October 27, 2026. (Emirates News Agency -- WAM)
November 1, 2026, 12:24 am
Off-duty pilots who landed flydubai plane after foiled terror attack finally revealed at UAE ceremony
Awards presented to Henson Steven of Fiji, Rowan Tooth of South Africa for their actions to safely land aircraft after terrorist copilot’s bid to crash it was thwarted by Israeli passengers and Indian pilot
By ToI Staff
Passenger Yaniv Hayun, with bloodstains on his shirt, one of the Israelis who helped subdue a flydubai copilot who sought to hijack and crash a plane full of Israelis, at Ben Gurion Airport, September 30, 2026. (AP/Tomer Appelbaum)
October 30, 2026, 6:29 am
Month after thwarted flydubai attack, Israel issues stringent new rules for all airlines
Israeli and foreign airlines alike must submit crew information 48 hours before departure; non-Israeli crew and passengers required to fill out online form before entering country
By ToI Staff and Sharon Wrobel
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan embraces flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar, during a reception for him and other crew members of Flight 1073 in Abu Dhabi on October 27, 2026. (Screenshots via X)
October 29, 2026, 9:22 am
Sporting visible scars, hero flydubai pilot honored by president of UAE
Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan awards Smit Machchhar and colleagues First Class Order of Zayed for thwarting Omani copilot’s attempt to crash plane full of Israelis
By ToI Staff
Daniel Schlichter looks on as he speaks during an interview about an attack that occurred while he was aboard a flydubai flight bound for Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
October 28, 2026, 3:22 pm
Flydubai attack survivors say Israeli government has left them high and dry
After Sept. 30 flight plummeted thousands of feet when terrorist copilot attempted to crash it, and heroic actions narrowly averted disaster, passengers say they’re having to grapple with recovery on their own
By Hannah Dreyfus
A United Airlines flight lands at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, March 31, 2025 (Yossi Aloni/ FLASH90)
October 21, 2026, 5:24 pm
Israel bars United pilot from its airspace over alleged support for Iran, Hezbollah
Move is largely symbolic, as the pilot is not qualified to fly the route; letter obtained by Channel 12 says security review followed unverified social media claims
By ToI Staff
An undated photo of Captain Smit Machchhar, captain of a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv that suffered a terrorist attack mid-air, with the copilot subdued after stabbing Machchhar, in an alleged attempt to crash the plane full of Israelis, September 30, 2026. (Danny Danon via X)
October 17, 2026, 11:34 pm
Flydubai captain recalls struggle to open cockpit door during attempted terror attack
Indian pilot Smit Machchhar says he kept thinking to himself, ‘you can’t die like this,’ as he struggled to alert others that he was being attacked with an axe by his Omani copilot
By AFP
Ethiopian Airlines planes are parked at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 11, 2019. (AP/Ben Curtis)
October 13, 2026, 3:56 am
Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight denied landing in Israel, forced to turn around, due to Indonesian pilot
Despite new regulations in the wake of flydubai attack, list of crew members aboard flight was reportedly only sent to Israel after takeoff from Addis Ababa
By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
Samir 'Abu Hamza' Mohtadi appears on 'The Aydin Show' on YouTube, in an interview published April 14, 2020. (Screenshot)
October 12, 2026, 10:05 am
Melbourne Islamic preacher linked to flydubai terrorist condemns ‘false accusations’
Omani copilot Hamam al-Hammami, inspired by 9/11 in his quest to crash plane of Israelis, attended Samir ‘Abu Hamza’ Mohtadi’s community center, UAE prosecutor says
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Passengers from flydubai flight FZ1073 walk with their family members after they were saved from an alleged attempt to crash their plane, at Ben Gurion Airport, September 30, 2026. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
October 11, 2026, 11:51 am
Flydubai passengers said preparing huge class-action suit against airline, governments
Suit reportedly to seek hundreds of millions from Israel, UAE as some 100 of attacked plane’s 174 passengers sign on, led by bank exec Tzvika Manes who helped subdue attacker
By ToI Staff
Passengers at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, October 4, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
October 10, 2026, 9:58 am
Israeli airline said to have begun background checks on crews of leased foreign planes
Unnamed carrier reportedly hires tech company to screen social media of foreign crew on leased planes; airlines said unwilling to wait for decision by Transportation Ministry, Mossad, Shin Bet
By ToI Staff
(Left) Hamam al-Hammami, the copilot who tried to bring down a flydubai flight to Israel in a terror attack on September 30, 2026, seen in an undated image from his recently deleted LinkedIn profile; (right) al-Hammami seen after he was subdued and bound on the plane. (Channel 12 screenshot)
October 9, 2026, 11:06 pm
UAE confirms flydubai copilot was planning 9/11-style ‘suicide attack’ on Ben Gurion Airport
Attorney general says Hamam al-Hammami used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to ‘familiarize himself with route and airport,’ prepared by viewing pro-terror material and taking boxing lessons
By Reuters and ToI Staff
Screenshot from a video posted by an Egyptian pilot on Instagram on October 7, 2026 showing an EgyptAir plane pulling up next to an El Al jet. (X, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
October 8, 2026, 10:51 pm
EgyptAir pilot sparks fear after posting El Al plane video with threatening speech on Oct. 7
Video features audio of Egypt’s Sadat invoking ‘eye for an eye’ threat to Israel in 1973; pilot says it has no connection to last week’s flydubai attack; clip said filmed in Milan
By ToI Staff
News editor Ben Sales appears on the Daily Briefing with host Jessica Steinberg on October 8, 2026 (Flash 90)
October 8, 2026, 2:20 pm
Daily Briefing Oct. 8: Shared grief, deep divisions – Israel marks October 7
News editor Ben Sales discusses the ceremonies held on the third anniversary of the Hamas attack, democratic expectations for election day, and candidates’ reactions to the flydubai attack
By Jessica Steinberg and Ben Sales
A plane takes off as a flydubai aircraft sits on the tarmac at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, September 30, 2026. (AP)
October 8, 2026, 4:42 am
Dubai repatriation flights nixed after UAE pulls landing permit for Israeli carriers
Arkia, Israir and El Al flights canceled day before repatriation flights were set to be completed, affecting an estimated 1,000 Israelis in wake of attempted flydubai terror attack
By Sharon Wrobel
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