UAE honors two flydubai pilots for landing plane after cockpit attack — NDTV World

The UAE has honored pilots Rowan Thut and Henson Stephen, who helped safely land a flydubai aircraft in Saudi Arabia after the first officer attacked the flight captain. As NDTV World reports, both pilots received the Order of Zayed II, First Class. The injured captain, Smith Machchhar, received the same honor.

Landing after the cockpit incident

The incident occurred on September 30 on flight FZ1073, operated by a Boeing 737 on the Dubai–Tel Aviv route. According to NDTV World, first officer Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani citizen, attacked Indian captain Smith Machchhar in the cockpit using an emergency axe. The captain sustained severe injuries and lost a large amount of blood.

Thut and Stephen were on board as additional crew members and were due to operate the aircraft on the return flight. Following the incident, they entered the cockpit, took control and landed the damaged aircraft at an airport in Saudi Arabia. Passengers were later transported to Tel Aviv on another aircraft.

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Honors for the crew

According to The Times of Israel, as cited by NDTV World, during the incident the aircraft descended by about 16,000 feet in 30 seconds, and its rudder was also damaged. The names of Thut and Stephen were announced on October 27 during a ceremony honoring the crew in the UAE. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan awarded honors to crew members, while Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presented the medals at the ceremony.

Rowan Thut previously worked for South African airline Airlink and joined flydubai in 2023. He is the son of former South African cricketer Barry Thut. Before joining flydubai, Henson Stephen was a pilot at Fiji Airways.