An injured flydubai captain has revealed how he forced himself to open the cockpit door after his aircraft plunged about 17,000 feet, allowing passengers and crew to overpower his alleged attacker and avert a possible crash.
Captain Smit Machchhar, who was stabbed by his co-pilot during the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight on Wednesday, said he realised the aircraft was going down while he lay seriously wounded inside the cockpit.
The Boeing 737, carrying 174 people, was cruising at high altitude when the confrontation occurred. Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft losing more than 16,000 feet in a matter of seconds before the situation was brought under control.
Machchhar, speaking from hospital during a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said he understood that his next move could determine whether the passengers survived.
“I was trying to save my own life, but I knew I could not let all those people die,” he said.
The captain said he had sustained several injuries and collapsed during the struggle, but the aircraft’s descent alerted him to the urgency of the situation.
“I had suffered so many injuries that I had collapsed. At that time, I could feel that the aircraft was going down. I knew this was the last push, that the door was right there,” he recalled.
Despite still being attacked, Machchhar said he managed to open the cockpit door, giving passengers and crew access to the flight deck.
“I was being hit even then, but I just opened the door and everyone came in,” he said.
Passengers subsequently entered the cockpit and helped subdue the attacker, while a reserve crew took control of the aircraft. The plane was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where it made an emergency landing.
The co-pilot was detained by Saudi authorities and has since been returned to the United Arab Emirates as investigations continue into the circumstances of the attack and whether it involved any terrorist intent.
Machchhar, who has 17 years of aviation experience, including 11 years as a captain, is receiving medical treatment after sustaining serious injuries during the confrontation.
The incident has drawn international attention, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praising the captain and the passengers for their actions during the emergency.
The account was reported by AFP, which based its report on Machchhar’s video call with Modi and other details surrounding the incident. The investigation remains ongoing.
