SA pilot Rowan Tooth honoured by UAE over flydubai emergency

A Northern Cape pilot has been named as one of the men who helped land a flydubai jet safely after a cockpit attack in September. His name is Rowan Tooth and he is from Kimberley, Joburg Etc reports.

What happened on flight FZ1073

On 30 September 2026, flydubai flight FZ1073 was heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the first officer attacked the captain, according to the UAE attorney general. Prosecutors described it as an attempted terrorist act. They later said the first officer had planned to crash the aircraft into a terminal at Ben Gurion Airport.

The captain, Smit Machchhar, was struck repeatedly on the head. Accounts differ on how the cockpit door was opened, but crew and passengers restrained the attacker. Pilots travelling on the flight then took over and diverted the jet to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. Flydubai says all 172 passengers and crew are safe.

UAE President confers the First Class Order of Zayed II on the flydubai crew members involved in September’s in-flight incident, in recognition of their courageous efforts to ensure the safety of passengers. The honours were presented by Hamdan bin Mohammed, who commended the crew’s actions and sense of responsibility.

Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) October 27, 2026

A @coolstorybru TikTok video circulating on 30 October says Tooth was on board as an off-duty pilot. It says he and a colleague from New Zealand brought the aircraft out of a steep dive and landed it. Flydubai has confirmed that the pilots who landed the jet were crew travelling on the flight.

@coolstorybru_ We finally know who the pilot is who helped stopped a plane crash 😮🇿🇦 The UAE have awarded him with a civilian honour 👏 #southafrica ♬ original sound – Cool Story Bru! 🇿🇦

The UAE’s official statements do not name everyone honoured. Reports now link Tooth to the award.

On Tuesday 27 October, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan conferred the First Class Order of Zayed II on the crew involved. Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed presented the honours in Abu Dhabi and praised the crew’s sense of responsibility, according to Gulf News. The same order went to six UAE ambassadors four days earlier.

For a month, most of the headlines have centred on Machchhar, the injured captain. A picture of the stitches on his head has been shared widely online, with many users thanking him. Tooth’s name only reached South African timelines this week.

The TikTok creator who identified him put it plainly: ‘The whole of South Africa needs to know this man’s name.’

It is easy to see why the story has landed at home. Kimberley is best known for its diamond-mining history and the Big Hole, not for its link to a Gulf airline cockpit. Yet a pilot from the Northern Cape was reportedly one of the people flying that aircraft when it mattered. Passengers rarely think about who is next to them in the cabin. This time, someone with a pilot’s training was.