India's anti-terror agency to probe mid-air cockpit attack on Captain Smit Machchhar aboard flydubai flight

New Delhi: Anti-terror agency NIA has registered a case to probe and unearth the larger conspiracy behind last month's mid-air attack on Captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit of an Israel-bound flydubai flight, officials said on Saturday.

It was reported that on September 30, 2026, the Omani first officer of flydubai flight no 1073 stabbed the Indian pilot, Captain Machchhar, mid-air "in an apparent attempt to hijack or cause it to crash", according to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on October 9.

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The FIR mentions the "Omani first officer" as the accused.

The NIA has invoked Section 3 (hijacking) of the Anti Hijacking Act, 2016 and Section 16 read with Section 15(1)(a) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, officials said.

Section 16 of UAPA entails punishment for terrorist act.

The Section 15(1)(a) details punishment for terrorist activities for "whoever does any act with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, (economic security) or sovereignty of India or with intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the people in India or in any foreign country, (a) by using bombs, dynamite or other explosive substances or inflammable substances or firearms or other lethal weapons or poisonous or noxious gases or other chemicals or by any other substances (whether biological radioactive, nuclear or otherwise) of a hazardous nature or by any other means of whatever nature..."

Captain Machchhar sustained critical injuries after he was stabbed by the Omani co-pilot inside the cockpit of the flydubai flight heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The incident occurred in the "Saudi airspace while flying near the Jordan-Saudi Arabia border".

The case was filed on the direction of the Home Ministry, considering the gravity of the offence and the need to unearth the larger conspiracy, the officials said.

"The Central government has received information that flydubai flight no 1073, which was being piloted by Indian national pilot Captain Smit Machchhar and an Omani first officer, departed from Dubai on September 30, 2026 at 7.05 am (GMT) with 174 passengers and six crew members and dived rapidly and turned back into Saudi airspace while flying near the Jordan-Saudi Arabia border at around 9.21 am (GMT)," the FIR states.

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"And whereas passengers reported that the first officer stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar during the flight in an apparent attempt to hijack or crash the plane but was overwhelmed and restrained by passengers and crew. However, Captain Smit Machchhar sustained deep cuts to the head and hands as a result of the attack," it said.

The other flydubai pilots on board then landed the plane safely at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk, in northwestern Saudi Arabia at 10.45 am (GMT), leading to the arrest of the first officer by Saudi authorities, the FIR reads.

The Central government is of the opinion that a scheduled offence under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, has been committed and the case is related to an attack on an Indian national pilot with an apparent attempt to hijack or crash the plane, and "having regard to the gravity of the offence, its grave national and international ramifications, and the need to unearth the larger conspiracy, the matter requires thorough investigation by the National Investigation Agency," it said.