On Wednesday, a horrific mid-air catastrophe was averted on flight FZ 1073 heading to Tel Aviv when passengers bravely rushed into the cockpit and stand-in pilots regained control of the aircraft. The plane, operated by Flydubai, had been diverted to Saudi Arabia where it made an emergency landing. Images showed a gruesome scene onboard, with blood splashed across the cockpit and the seriously wounded pilot lying on the floor.
Smit Machchhar, the hero Flydubai captain who fought off a savage attack by his copilot, has spoken about the ordeal in his first public remarks since the incident. In a video call with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, Machchhar said he kept fighting because he could not “let everybody else die.” Machchhar was badly injured while trying to fend off the attacker. He told Modi he was on the ground in the cockpit when he realized the plane was going down.
Machchhar described the intense moment when he decided to make one last push to open the cockpit door. “And I knew in that moment – one last push, Smit! Just do it. The door is right there,” he said. “And even at that time, he was beating me up.” Machchhar managed to open the door, and several other passengers rushed into the cockpit and restrained his attacker. Modi praised Machchhar’s heroics, telling the veteran pilot that his “courage, patience and quick thinking… saved the lives of so many people.”
The alleged attacker, an Omani national, has been transferred from Saudi Arabia to the UAE, where he faces a terrorism investigation. A top UAE official described the mid-flight crisis as a “dangerous terrorist act.” Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE’s president, cautioned against conspiracy theories as investigators look to establish the facts surrounding what happened.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the alleged attacker had “undergone Islamist radicalization” and intended to crash the plane with its passengers on board. Netanyahu suggested that the attacker may have used a knife or an axe in the violent altercation. US President Donald Trump suggested the pilot may be linked to Iran, though he provided no details.
Machchhar is recovering at a hospital in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was initially treated for his injuries in Saudi Arabia, where the diverted plane was forced to make an emergency landing. The father of two had suffered “massive blood loss” and was “severely wounded,” according to dentist Shota Musaev, a passenger on the flight who helped treat him.
Machchhar’s bravery “managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster,” Netanyahu told CNN on Wednesday. Machchhar appeared emotional in the call with Modi while recalling the ordeal, and apologized to the prime minister for crying on the phone. His family, including his wife Sonal and their two children, have been supportive throughout his recovery. His wife told CNN affiliate CNN News18 that the family had not asked him yet about what happened because “we don’t want him to get flashbacks of the incident.”
Key points
- The hijacking attempt on flight FZ 1073 was averted due to the bravery of passengers and heroics of captain Smit Machchhar.
- The alleged attacker, an Omani national, faces a terrorism investigation in the UAE.
- Machchhar is recovering from severe injuries at a hospital in Abu Dhabi.
