President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Dubai leaders welcome Captain Smit Machchhar and his flight team in Abu Dhabi weeks after flight FZ1073 diverted safely to Saudi Arabia.
ABU DHABI — UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday conferred the First Class Order of Zayed II on the flight and cabin crew of flydubai flight FZ1073, commending their decisive actions in subduing an attacker inside the cockpit and saving 174 passengers during an emergency diversion last month.
The presentation at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi brought Captain Smit Machchhar and his crew face-to-face with the country’s top leadership weeks after surviving a violent assault at 30,000 feet. Machchhar arrived with his left arm secured in a sling, his hand heavily bandaged, and visible scarring along his head—injuries sustained during the mid-flight confrontation on September 30.
Sheikh Mohamed embraced Machchhar as the team gathered, offering personal words of comfort and reassurance. “Whatever happened in your life, UAE is your country, and there’s a home for you here, and you have a family,” the President told the assembled aviators and cabin attendants. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, personally congratulated each member of the crew along the line.
The ceremony was attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence, who presented the decorations, as well as Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group and President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority.
The medals formally acknowledge the crew’s rapid intervention during what international investigators described as a deliberate attempt to crash the Boeing 737. Flight FZ1073 was bound for Tel Aviv from Dubai carrying 174 passengers and eight crew members when Machchhar was struck from behind inside the flight deck.
According to flight accounts and public prosecution statements, the attacker was the 29-year-old first officer, who intended to force the airliner down over Tel Aviv. Despite sustaining severe blunt-force trauma to the skull and slipping repeatedly out of consciousness, Machchhar managed to reach the cockpit security panel and release the door lock.
The unlocking of the armoured door allowed cabin crew and several passengers to storm the cockpit, physically restrain the co-pilot, and take control of the compartment. The flight quickly diverted toward Tabuk Regional Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. On board, a passenger trained as a dentist administered urgent first aid, applying pressure dressings to control Machchhar’s cranial bleeding until emergency medical services met the aircraft upon touchdown.
Machchhar received initial trauma care in Tabuk before being airlifted back to Dubai for specialised surgery, where Sheikh Hamdan visited him during his hospitalisation.
The incident has drawn formal recognition across international borders. The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority opened inquiries alongside security agencies, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly commended Machchhar’s composure. Official commendations were also issued by Israeli authorities for both the crew and the passengers who breached the cockpit, while the United States House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution honouring the team’s actions.
