Initial reports following the Wednesday (September 30, 2026) incident suggested that Captain Smit Macchar had been stabbed by his co-pilot with a knife, raising security questions regarding how a weapon could pass airport screening. However, a report by CBS published on Thursday (October 1, 2026) cited preliminary findings showing that the attacker did not conceal a weapon prior to boarding. Instead, investigators suspect the assailant utilized the cockpit's mandatory emergency crash axe—a standard firefighting tool installed during manufacturing to assist crew and passengers in escaping compromised fuselages during forced landings. Standard international civil aviation protocols mandated moving emergency crash axes exclusively inside secure cockpits following the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. Reports confirm Captain Macchar is an Indian national, while the co-pilot is reported to be an Omani citizen whose identity remains undisclosed pending ongoing aviation authority investigations.