- Pilot described co-pilot’s attack during Flydubai flight.
- Attack caused sharp aircraft descent, blurring captain’s vision.
- Captain struggled, opened cockpit door, attacker was restrained.
- Flight made emergency landing; Netanyahu praised pilot’s courage.
Captain Smit Machchhar has recalled the chilling moments of the September 30 Flydubai cockpit attack, describing how repeated blows from his Omani co-pilot left his vision severely blurred before he made multiple attempts to reach the cockpit door and regain control.
Machchhar was speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the incident aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
‘Blow Kept Coming, One After The Other’
Machchhar said the flight had been proceeding normally when the co-pilot, identified as Hamam al-Hammami, who wanted to pray, suddenly attacked him.
“It was a normal flight, and he wanted to pray, which is not out of the ordinary. While he was praying, out of respect, I was looking at the front, not at the back, and suddenly there was a big blow to the back of my head. My first thought was that there was catastrophic damage to the aircraft and something was not right. But then, after that, the blow kept coming, one after the other. And that’s when I realised that it’s not the aircraft; it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me,” Captain Machchhar said.
The confrontation caused the aircraft to descend sharply, with the plane dropping approximately 16,000 feet within two minutes before a hijacking distress signal was transmitted.
Machchhar said he tried to stop the attacker but was struggling to see clearly after the initial blows.
“I did try to stop him, but because of his initial blows, my vision was almost like nothing. And I was completely blurred out. And at that point, the next feeling that I had was that the aircraft was sharply going down,” Captain Machchhar said.
“My memory is still in bits and pieces right now, but this is what I remember out of that time,” he added.
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‘I Did Try And Manage To Open The Door’
Machchhar said he attempted to open the cockpit door, but the attacker closed it again. He recalled then lying on the cockpit floor while hearing the aircraft and passengers screaming.
“I did try and manage to open the door once, but I think he shut it back closed. And at this point, I remember I was lying down on the cockpit floor. And I felt the aircraft and the whooshing sound and people screaming. And as I was telling the ambassador here, I had one last fight left in me. Call it personal or call it for people, but let’s say I did it, that if I don’t do it, I’m going to die,” he said.
He said he then made another attempt to reach the door and managed to open it.
“And that’s when I pushed against everything I gave, everything that I had, and just went for the door and opened the door. And thankfully, people were waiting to pounce back and took over the control,” he said.
Flight crew members and passengers subsequently entered the cockpit and restrained the attacker. Two non-duty aviators who were on board also helped take control of the aircraft for its emergency landing.
Flight Makes Emergency Landing In Saudi Arabia
The aircraft eventually made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, with all 180 occupants disembarking without injury.
The incident took place on September 30 aboard the Flydubai flight operating from Dubai to Tel Aviv. The Omani co-pilot allegedly attempted to carry out a “terrorist attack” after stabbing Machchhar inside the cockpit in an attempt to bring down the aircraft.
Despite suffering severe injuries, Machchhar resisted the attack and managed to unlatch the cockpit entry.
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Netanyahu Praises Machchhar’s Courage
During his conversation with Machchhar, Netanyahu praised the pilot’s conduct during the attack and said he was “amazed” by his courage and “judgement under impossible conditions”.
Netanyahu said he had heard from Israeli passengers about what happened during the incident and praised Machchhar and those who helped him.
“I heard, of course, from the Israeli passengers what transpired after that, and you’re a great hero, and you were accompanied by heroes, and you saved the day. You saved so many souls. I think you saved something bigger. You saved the spirit of the world to realise that a brave pilot and brave passengers can overcome this evil, however threatening, however violent. It’s something that is being justly hailed around the world. You’re a hero of Israel. You’re a hero of India. You’re a hero of the entire world. And I can tell you that people here will welcome you with open arms,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli Prime Minister also invited Machchhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light a celebratory flame on Israel’s next Independence Day. Netanyahu also conveyed his regards to Machchhar’s wife and wished the pilot a speedy recovery.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
