Flydubai Pilot Hailed Hero After Onboard Attack: 'I Couldn't Let Everybody Else Die'
The captain said he sensed the jet plunging and opened the cockpit door so passengers could restrain the attacker.
- FlyDubai Captain Smit Machchhar thwarted a mid-flight attack on Wednesday after being stabbed by his co-pilot, opening the cockpit door to allow passengers to restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply before landing safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
- The flight carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted following the incident, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirming that Saudi Arabia authorities arrested the Omani national attacker, though his motive remains under investigation.
- Machchhar, with 17 years of flying experience, said he sensed the aircraft plummeting even while incapacitated; during the ordeal, he recited the Hanuman Chalisa for strength, later telling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "Lord Hanuman gave me courage."
- Recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital, Machchhar spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video call, where Modi praised him, stating his "courage, patience, and presence of mind" saved many lives.
- Mainland Air CEO Philip Kean noted that while pilots are trained to handle incapacitated crew, current protocols do not prepare them for a stabbing attack, revealing a critical training gap in cockpit security.
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He told in a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the moments of terror during the attack of the copilot Hamam al-Hammami, who on flight Fz1073 Dubai-Tel Aviv of FlyDubai stabbed him risking to crash the plane. The Indian commander Smit Machhar spoke in tears, from the hospital bed: according to the rebuilt [...] The article Flydubai, the story in tears of Commander Smit Machchhar: "He was stabbing me, but I couldn't let the passe…
Smit Machchhar says he forced open cockpit door despite injuries as plane carrying more than 170 passengers plunged 17,000 feet
Flydubai pilot hailed hero after onboard attack: 'I couldn't let everybody else die'
Smit Machchhar, the hero Flydubai captain who fought off a savage attack by his copilot, kept fighting because he could not "let everybody else die," he said in his first public remarks since Wednesday's suspected hijacking attempt.
FlyDubai Pilot Speaks Out About Moment He Made Heroic Decision That Saved Passengers * The Gateway Pundit * by Margaret Flavin
Captain Smit Machchhar, the FlyDubai pilot who, despite fighting for his life after being stabbed by his copilot, an Omani national, managed to unlock the cockpit door to allow passengers in to subdue the hijacker, is recovering in the hospital.
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