The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has officially registered a case to investigate last month’s harrowing mid-air cockpit attack on Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar aboard a flydubai flight.
According to officials, the federal agency has filed the case under relevant provisions of the Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.
The incident occurred on Sept 30 during flydubai flight FZ1073 travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Indian national pilot Captain Machchhar was stabbed and seriously injured inside the cockpit by his co-pilot in what officials, citing an NIA First Information Report (FIR) registered on Oct 9, suspect was an attempt to hijack or crash the aircraft.
Despite sustaining severe injuries, Captain Machchhar managed to alert authorities and open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to intervene before the aircraft safely landed. The NIA’s intervention marks a major escalation in probing the wider security and terror dimensions of the mid-air assault.
