Fact Check: This is NOT flydubai co-pilot shouting 'Allahu Akbar' and 'death to America'

The flydubai’s Dubai-Tel Aviv flight 1073 was diverted to Saudi Arabia on September 30. What happened inside was straight out of a high-octane, high-altitude action thriller.

The co-pilot stabbed the captain, Indian commercial pilot Smit Machchhar, and allegedly attempted to crash the plane. But for the bravery displayed by the wounded captain and some passengers, that is what would have happened.

As the world comes to grips with this extraordinary story — full of murky details — misinformation surrounding it has been aplenty.

A video now going viral allegedly shows the co-pilot threatening to bomb the plane and wishing for the death of America and its president, Donald Trump. He also allegedly shouted, “Allahu Akbar”, Arabic for “God is great”.

Sharing the video, an X user wrote, “Terror on Dubai flight flydubai with 180 passengers, including 27 children. Co-pilot is wrestled to the ground after stabbing the pilot. ‘I’m going to bomb the plane, Death to America, Death to Trump - Allahu Akbar’.”

India Today Fact Check found that the video is from July 2025 and shows a man called Abhay Devadas Nayak causing disturbances on a London-Glasgow flight.

OUR PROBE

Reverse-searching frames from the video led us to NDTV’s YouTube channel, which shared the clip on July 28, 2025. According to the channel, a man caused disturbances on an EasyJet flight from London Luton Airport in the UK to Glasgow in Scotland. The man shouted, “I am going to bomb the plane,” “Death to America, death to Trump,” and “Allahu Akbar”.

The Times of India reported on August 3, 2025, that the accused was identified as 41-year-old Abhay Devadas Nayak. He was restrained midair by passengers and arrested in Glasgow, Scotland.

UK authorities had charged him with endangering flight safety. The report also mentioned that he was a person with schizophrenia, which was confirmed by his family in Bengaluru.

Another Times report from August 13, 2025, stated that Nayak lived in Luton, England. His Karnataka State Indian Union motor driving licence, which he was carrying on the flight, identified him as Abhay D Nayak.

When asked why he caused this disturbance, the newspaper quoted him as saying: “I'm opposed to Trump, who is in Scotland, so I am protesting against him. I want to send a message to Trump.” He had also confirmed that he was not carrying a bomb.

The Paisley Sheriff Court of Scotland charged Nayak with endangering the safety of an aircraft or people within it.

FLYDUBAI PASSENGERS' ACCOUNT

The exact sequence of events inside the flydubai flight is still emerging.

According to a September 30 report by Israel National News, soon after the commotion began, passengers aboard the flight also heard shouts of “Allahu Akbar”. The news outlet quoted a passenger saying, “There was a crew member who shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ and ran toward the pilot.” The crew member’s identity has not been mentioned — though he was reportedly restrained.

CNBC TV18 also published a video report, in which a passenger said he heard someone shouting “Allahu Akbar”. We did not find any credible news report stating the co-pilot had shouted “Death to America” or “Death to Trump”.

WHO IS THE CO-PILOT?

An Israeli official, on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the co-pilot is an Omani national. At the time of writing this story, an Associated Press report said that the identity and motive of the Omani co-pilot who stabbed his captain remained unknown.

According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu called the event “a highly severe security incident.” He also said, “The attacking pilot is now being investigated by Saudi Arabia.”

flydubai also stated on September 30 that the “underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation.”