Aviation News

Currently Playing: Flydubai Pilot Gives 1st Interview

Smit Machchhar, captain of flydubai flight 1073, says the September 30, 2026 attack in his cockpit has not ended his love of flying, and he wants to return to the cockpit. Speaking out to The National from Abu Dhabi, he separates what he can recall from what he can't, including whether his own push is what got the cockpit door open. Dan Millican sets that memory beside the Flightradar24 tracking data, the UAE Attorney General's statements and an Israeli dentist's account of holding pressure on the captain's wounds, and lays out what officials have said about the two flydubai pilots riding as passengers, the pilots officials say landed the 737 MAX 8 at Tabuk. The story reaches well past the airplane: two Maldivian flydubai co-pilots detained and then deported with no allegation made public, a case opened by India's National Investigation Agency, and, Israeli media report, Israel enforcing a crew-nationality rule on foreign airlines. — LINKS — ▸ Check out Dan's new book! → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKKN3VNL ▸ Sign up for our email newsletter! → https://taking-off.kit.com/d0caf18c91 — PARTNERS & SPONSORS — ▸ For business inquiries → takingoff@outloudtalent.com ▸ Serendipitous Films – Need a video for your company? → sales@s-films.com ▸ AEROVERSE – Use code TakingOff for 15% off! → https://www.aeroverse.com/ ▸ FlyingEyes Optics – Get 10% off pilot glasses → https://flyingeyesoptics.com/pages/taking-offs-discount ▸ Colten Mortgage – Residential mortgage & refi, run by a pilot! → https://www.coltenmortgage.com/takingoff ▸ XeVision – Extreme LED Landing Lights. The only competitor is the sun! → https://www.xevision.com (https://www.xevision.com/) ▸ Clemens Insurance – Your broker should be fighting for you. Call Clemens! → https://www.clemensinsurance.net/ ▸ Marshal Protective Services – Private Security Elevated! → https://mpsprotects.com/ ▸ METAR Maps – The large METAR map on our set! Mention TakingOff when you order → https://metarmaps.com/ ▸ Lightspeed Headsets – Support us by buying through our link → https://www.lightspeedaviation.com/?ref=13