Passenger recalls hugging children as Flydubai plane nosedived during cockpit attack

A Flydubai passenger has shared harrowing details of the moment a pilot was stabbed in the cockpit, causing the aircraft to nosedive more than 17,000ft, and how he held his two young children tightly to shield them from the terror.

Adam Polovincik, a performance marketing analyst, was traveling with his wife and their six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Speaking to BBC Newshour, he explained that as the plane began a sharp descent roughly two hours into the journey, he tried to remain composed for the sake of his children.

“You just tell them, yeah, everything’s going to be all right. It’s just a malfunction in the aeroplane… you hug them really hard and try to keep your face so it doesn’t look very panicked,” Polovincik said.

The incident occurred when an alleged attacker stabbed the pilot, presumably in an attempt to seize control of the flight. The aircraft dropped nearly 5,200 meters in under two minutes, sending unbuckled passengers and crew to the floor. Polovincik initially believed the sudden change in altitude was due to turbulence, but the duration of the drop soon gave way to screams from the cockpit area reporting blood and a stabbing.

He praised Indian pilot Capt Smit Machchhar, who fought off the assailant and unlocked the cockpit door, enabling passengers to rush in and subdue the attacker. “Without him opening the door, we’re probably not speaking here right now,” Polovincik said, describing the aviation professional as a “true hero.”

The stabbed pilot remains in stable condition in the hospital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that while it was too early to confirm Iranian involvement, the suspect had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination.”

Following the confrontation, the flight was diverted to Tabuk Airport in northwest Saudi Arabia. Polovincik noted that despite the lack of diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, passengers were treated with hospitality, receiving water, food, and sweets for the children.

The alleged attacker has been arrested in Saudi Arabia and is expected to be transferred to the United Arab Emirates. The passengers, nearly all Israeli, were later flown to Tel Aviv, where they were welcomed by cheering crowds waving flags.

Polovincik, who had described the trip as “amazing” prior to the attack, said the event marked a terrible conclusion to the family holiday and admitted it would take time for his family to process the trauma. He also expressed a sense of profound luck, saying he felt it was “the hand of God” that led to the successful outcome.