FlyDubai pilot Smit Machchhar speaks out after co-pilot axe attack on Tel Aviv flight
Indian captain Smit Machchhar recalled telling himself "you can't die like this" after being struck with an axe in the cockpit. Over 170 lives were saved.
FlyDubai captain breaks silence after cockpit attack that nearly downed flight to Tel Aviv
Indian pilot Smit Machchhar has given his first television interviews since being seriously injured in a cockpit attack aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 on 30 September, rediff.com reports. Speaking from a hospital bed in the UAE, Machchhar described how he repeatedly lost consciousness and forced himself to act.
"There was a moment that I realised and I told myself: 'Smit, do something. You can't die like this,'" Machchhar said in an interview with Sky News Arabia, excerpts of which were published on the channel's social media accounts on Saturday.
The captain said he had been struck on the back of the head while checking his computer in the cockpit. "Later on in the event, I was in and out of consciousness frequently," he told Sky News Arabia.
In a separate interview with UAE-based outlet The National, also shared on social media on Saturday, Machchhar attributed his response to instinct. "It was like a survival instinct, which kicked in, and thankfully it did for me and all my other passengers and colleagues," he said.
Co-pilot accused of planning suicide attack
Flight FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with more than 170 people on board when the Omani co-pilot allegedly attacked Machchhar with an emergency crash axe and attempted to seize control of the aircraft. According to the UAE attorney general, the investigation found that the co-pilot had planned to crash the plane into the passenger terminal at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in a suicide attack. The investigation is ongoing.
Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing another pilot, cabin crew members and passengers to intervene and restrain the attacker. Other pilots on board took control of the aircraft and diverted it to Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely with all passengers unharmed.
Recovery and tributes
The Omani co-pilot was taken into custody following the landing. Machchhar was initially treated at a hospital in Tabuk before being transferred to Abu Dhabi, where he is continuing his recovery. The Indian Embassy stated on 6 October that he was making "steady progress" and "regaining his health."
The captain also praised the colleague who took over the aircraft's controls during the emergency, describing his actions as commendable and saying it was something he would remember for the rest of his life.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump have all praised Machchhar's courage, describing him as a hero.
The full interviews with Machchhar by Sky News Arabia and The National were scheduled to broadcast at 9 pm Abu Dhabi time on Saturday.
Source: Times of Malta