DOMINANT ANGLE
Brasília recounts the incident through its heroes: passengers, the injured Indian pilot, and the relief crew, more so than through the investigation, while attributing to Israel the qualification of attempted attack.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Flight FZ1073 issued a code 7700 and then a code 7500 before landing in Tabouk, according to Flightradar24 cited by Folha and G1.
- 02
Yaniv Hayun, a passenger, says he "pulled the controls up" to stop the descent and was welcomed as a hero by Netanyahou (G1).
- 03
Smit Machchhar, with eleven years at SpiceJet and then flydubai since 2022, opened the cockpit door despite his injuries (G1, Estadão).
ANALYSIS
Brasília, October 1, 2026. The Brazilian press is covering the incident of flydubai flight FZ1073 mainly through the accounts of those on board. G1 and Folha, citing Reuters and AFP, report that the Boeing 737, with 174 passengers traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, plummeted near the Jordanian border before landing in Tabouk on Wednesday, September 30. According to Flightradar24, it issued a general emergency code (7700) and then an unlawful interference code (7500). Folha cites a drop of approximately 10 km to 5.2 km in altitude in 90 seconds; G1 mentions over 4,000 meters lost in 30 seconds.
Testimonies are dominating the coverage. Almog Italie compares the descent to a "roller coaster"; Shaim Nazarovitz describes the flight as "absolutely frightening". G1 quotes Yaniv Hayun, who was welcomed as a hero by Benyamin Netanyahu: "I pulled the controls up and stopped the plane's descent," he says, citing the series Air Crash Investigation.
The commander, Indian Smit Machchhar, is the subject of profiles in G1 and Estadão: eleven years at SpiceJet, joined flydubai in 2022, with nearly 10,000 hours of flight experience. Injured and on the ground, he was able to activate the opening of the cockpit door, according to a Netanyahu spokesperson cited by Reuters. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh says he is hospitalized in Tabouk. Two relief pilots on board then landed the plane, G1 reports.
Regarding the qualification of the facts, the titles remain attributed: Israel is treating the matter as an attempted attack. Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, described as far-right by Veja, mentions a "terrorist" wanting to kill 180 Israelis. Netanyahu claims that the copilot, an Omani national who was arrested, stated that he acted alone (G1). The cabinet had initially ruled out a hijacking. G1 notes that the exact sequence of events is not clear and that flydubai has not detailed the facts; Netanyahu announced the suspension of flights to Israel. The Tabouk airport indicates that the pilot and copilot were hospitalized and that passengers received treatment; Folha also relays Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who attributes the failure of the attack to the heroism of Israeli passengers.
SOURCES (4)
- G1 Globo MundoMEDIUM
- VejaMEDIUM
- Folha MundoMEDIUM
- EstadãoMEDIUM
