A crash axe in the cockpit: The Mirror's report on the FlyDubai co-pilot accused of attacking his captain
The report on an attack aboard a flight to Tel Aviv passed 100,000 views in sixteen hours, and much of its comment section is addressed to the captain.
The MirrorStory of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 129,990 views a day, 27 times a normal first day on this channel (4,829).
FlyDubai suspect ‘used AXE to strike pilot in FRENZIED mid-flight attack' as co-pilot identified
"FlyDubai suspect ‘used AXE to strike pilot in FRENZIED mid-flight attack' as co-pilot identified" is The Mirror's report on an attack inside the cockpit of a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv. The description says the co-pilot is suspected of attacking Captain Smit Machchhar before he was overpowered. Sources allege he used the cockpit's crash axe as a weapon. Officials say the plane, with 182 people aboard, dropped sharply and nearly crashed.
The report also sets out what officials and sources are saying so far. United Arab Emirates officials issued a statement citing the country's attorney general. It called the event a terrorist incident and alleged that the co-pilot had tried to hijack the plane. A Gulf diplomat said investigators want to establish whether he acted alone or had links to extremist groups. A source familiar with the matter said Oman had barred him from flying over concerns about extremist views before FlyDubai hired him.
The Mirror's new videos usually end their first day with fewer than 5,000 views. This one passed 100,000 in sixteen hours. Its comments came even faster: close to six hundred so far, about six times what a full first day usually brings. Much of that talk is about the captain. Viewers in India and Britain write to thank him, and others point out that he managed to open the cockpit door so that others could help. A comment about another pilot being on board has drawn the most replies. Some viewers object to the report's careful "suspected" and "alleged". Others call for vetted security on every flight.
The report went up on a day when The Mirror's feed carried a lot of counter-terrorism news, including the release on bail of a sixth man arrested over the suspected plot at RAF Fairford. Those uploads stayed in the low tens of thousands. The flight report ran far ahead of them, a day after Mikey Smith's Trump roundup gave the channel its other big start, as we reported here.
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- Channel
- The Mirror
- Subscribers
- 369,000 ▲ 2,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 984,591
- Channel views, pace per day
- 53,852 (on a normal day: 140,819)
- Video published
- October 3, 2026
- Video views so far
- 107,789 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 129,990
The numbers
A first day far beyond The Mirror's usual start, with comments arriving even faster than the views.
