By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot with Flydubai, has recounted how he fought to save passengers after he was attacked and stabbed by his co-pilot during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, September 30, aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 carrying more than 170 people.
According to reports, the co-pilot attacked Machchhar inside the cockpit, causing the aircraft to descend rapidly by thousands of feet within seconds.
Despite sustaining multiple injuries, Machchhar managed to regain enough strength to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew members to enter and restrain the attacker.
The aircraft was subsequently diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where it made an emergency landing. The injured captain was initially treated in Saudi Arabia before being transferred to Abu Dhabi for further medical care.
Speaking from his hospital bed during a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, Machchhar described the moment he realized he had to act despite his injuries.
He said he was lying on the cockpit floor when he felt the aircraft descending and realized that he had to get back up to prevent passengers from losing their lives.
Machchhar said he eventually managed to open the cockpit door, after which passengers and other crew members intervened and subdued the attacker.
“I was fighting for my life,” Machchhar told Modi, explaining that he knew he could not allow the passengers to die.
The captain, who has about 17 years of flying experience, was seriously injured in the attack but is reported to be in stable condition as he continues his recovery.
The motive behind the attack remains under investigation. Israeli officials have described the incident as an apparent attempt to crash the aircraft, while authorities in the United Arab Emirates and other countries are investigating the circumstances surrounding the attack.
The incident has also renewed attention on cockpit security and the potential risks posed by attacks involving members of an aircraft’s own crew.
Machchhar’s actions, alongside the intervention of passengers and other crew members, enabled the aircraft to be brought safely to the ground after the emergency.
