# 12 minutes of madness: How Flydubai pilot and passengers saved a plunging plane

https://mins.news/en/item/83463

- Al Jazeera, 2026-10-02 12:37 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/2/12-minutes-of-madness-how-flydubai-pilot-passengers-saved-plane-midfall?traffic_source=rss

> Flydubai Flight FZ1073 plunged about 17,000 feet in two minutes while its copilot stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar. Despite his injuries, Machchhar opened the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker and regain control before the aircraft crashed.

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