‘Blow to back of head’, ‘fought with blurry vision': Machchhar recalls flydubai cockpit attack
flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar recalls alleged co-pilot attack, cockpit struggle and steep descent before flight FZ1073 was diverted to Saudi Arabia
Captain Smit Machchhar has described how a routine FlyDubai flight changed within minutes after he was allegedly attacked by his co-pilot.
Machchhar was seriously injured in the incident. He said that the flight had been normal and his co-pilot began praying. He looked towards the front of the cockpit and, after several minutes, felt a heavy blow to the back of his head.
Recalls sudden cockpit attack
“It was a normal flight, and the co-pilot wanted to pray ... which a lot of locals do pray ... which is not out of the ordinary,” Machchhar told Netanyahu. “While he was praying, out of respect, I was looking at the front and not at the back, and suddenly, after about four-five minutes, there was a big blow to the back of my head,” he added as quoted by NDTV.
Also Read: Who is Captain Smit Machchhar? Indian Flydubai pilot injured in cockpit confrontation
Machchhar, originally from Ghatkopar in Mumbai, said that he first thought the aircraft itself had been badly damaged. More blows followed before he realised who was attacking him.
Blows leave pilot struggling to see
"My first thought was that there was catastrophic damage to the aircraft, that something is not right ... but after that the blows kept coming, one after the other and that's when I realised that it's not the aircraft, it's the other guy who is in the cockpit with me," he added.
Also Read: Brave Indian pilot saves the day, passengers fly plane to safety: What happened on Flydubai flight
"I did try and stop him, but because of his initial blows, my vision was almost like nothing, and I was completely blurred out,” he said.
The aircraft then started dropping sharply. “And at that point, the next feeling I had was that the aircraft was sharply going down,” he said.
Machchhar recalls aircraft's steep descent
“My memory is still in bits and pieces right now, but this is what I remember out of that time. “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 in the cockpit floor, and I felt the aircraft and the whooshing sound and people screaming,” he added.
Also Read: Flydubai incident: Netanyahu praises stabbed pilot for ‘extraordinary bravery’
Machchhar said he knew he had one final chance to get the cockpit door open.
“And as I was telling the Ambassador here, I had that one last fight left in me,” he said. “Call it personal or call it for people, I did it because if I didn't do it, I was going to die, and that's when I pushed against everything... I gave everything that I had and went for the door and opened the door. And thankfully, people were waiting to pounce back ... took over control and the rest is what you know."
FlyDubai flight diverted to Saudi Arabia
FlyDubai flight FZ1073 was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday (October 7) when it sent emergency signals and descended more than 17,000ft. The Boeing 737-8 was later diverted to Prince Sultan Bin Abdel Aziz Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.