Wounded Flydubai Captain Recounts Fight To Save 174 Passengers

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

NEW DELHI/TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – The Indian captain, praised as a hero for helping save 174 passengers while fighting for his life, has spoken publicly for the first time about his struggle in the cockpit with his co-pilot aboard a flydubai passenger jet on a flight to Israel.

Captain Smit Machchhar spoke emotionally by video call from his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing how he managed to open the cockpit door despite suffering multiple injuries.

The drama unfolded Wednesday, September 30, aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX flying from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv, Israel. The aircraft had departed Dubai at about 7:05 a.m. local time.

“I could feel that the aircraft was going down. I knew this was the last push,” Machchhar said. Despite continuing to come under attack, he managed to reach and open the cockpit door.

Israeli passengers then entered and helped overpower the Omani co-pilot, who allegedly stabbed Machchhar and sent the aircraft into a steep dive.

ISLAMIST RADICALIZATION

The suspect’s identity has still not been publicly disclosed. Investigators are examining whether the attack was motivated by Islamist extremism and whether the co-pilot acted alone.

An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that the man’s social-media activity included references to killing Jews. The official indicated that investigators believed his accounts showed he had been radicalized into jihadist ideology.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu separately described the co-pilot as having undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination,” although the investigation into his motive remains underway.

Israeli passengers who subdued the co-pilot said he repeatedly shouted, “Kill me, kill me,” after being restrained.

Yaniv Hayun, an Israeli plumber who helped overpower him, told Netanyahu that he interpreted the words as indicating that the co-pilot knew his apparent mission had failed and preferred to die.

“I’M NO BRUCE LEE”

Hayun later joked about his unexpected role in saving the aircraft. “I’m no Bruce Lee,” he said, explaining that he and several other Israelis nevertheless managed to overpower the attacker and pull him backward in a chokehold.

Dentist Shota Musaev was another passenger who intervened. He subsequently turned his attention to the severely wounded Machchhar and worked to stop his bleeding.

While the restrained co-pilot was reportedly asking to be killed, the badly wounded captain was fighting to survive. Musaev remembered Machchhar telling him that he wanted to live and did not want to die there.

Machchhar and the co-pilot have since been transferred from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates. Machchhar, who has lived in the UAE for years, is receiving further treatment in Abu Dhabi and is reportedly recovering well.

The captain also described to Modi the terrifying moments when the co-pilot attacked him and the aircraft suddenly went into a steep dive.

NEARLY 14,000-FOOT PLUNGE

The Boeing 737 MAX reportedly plunged nearly 14,000 feet, or about 4,267 meters, in less than 30 seconds.

Machchhar remembered that after collapsing to the floor, he could sense the aircraft rapidly descending. Drawing on 17 years of flying experience, including 11 years as a captain, he realized what was happening even though he could no longer see the controls.

“I was trying to save my own life,” Machchhar said, adding that he could not allow the others aboard to die.

After passengers and crew gained access to the cockpit and subdued the co-pilot, other flydubai pilots traveling aboard the aircraft took control.

They safely made an emergency landing at Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Most of those aboard were Israeli and were later flown on to Tel Aviv.

ISRAELI SECURITY LAPSE

The incident has also raised questions about an apparent failure by Israeli security agencies to enforce restrictions intended to prevent pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel from flying into Tel Aviv.

Oman has no diplomatic relations with Israel. Under arrangements linked to the 2020 Abraham Accords, pilots from countries without relations with Israel are barred from operating flights into the country, according to Israeli media reports.

Yet Israel’s Channel 12 reported that dozens of Omani pilots had flown into Israel in recent years, with enforcement of the restriction largely left to foreign airlines.

Netanyahu described the issue as a security “loophole” that needed to be closed.

He also called for stronger background checks on pilots flying into Israel.

UAE INVESTIGATION

The United Arab Emirates has opened an investigation to determine the circumstances and motive behind the attack, including whether it involved terrorist activity, prior planning or outside direction.

Israeli authorities have also examined the possibility of Iranian involvement, although no such connection has been established. Israeli security officials currently believe the co-pilot probably acted alone.

Despite the security concerns, Israeli officials have so far avoided directing significant public criticism at the United Arab Emirates, one of Israel’s closest Arab partners.

Israel and the UAE established diplomatic relations under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords. Israel also has longstanding peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan.

However, the UAE has developed extensive tourism and commercial links with Israel, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi becoming important destinations and transit hubs for Israeli travelers heading to Asia.