Indian Captain Smid Machhchar was stabbed by the co-pilot during a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, but despite his serious injuries, he managed to open the cockpit door. This allowed passengers and crew members to get inside and detain the attacker.
The incident occurred about two and a half hours after takeoff of flight FZ1073, when the Boeing 737 entered Jordanian airspace. According to Israeli officials, the co-pilot attacked the captain and tried to sabotage the controls of the machine. The plane lost about 14,000 feet of altitude in less than 30 seconds.
Machhchar suffered multiple stab wounds and was bleeding profusely, but managed to operate the cabin's opening mechanism before crashing. Passengers and crew members then rushed forward and restrained the attacker. Pilots were among those on board who helped stabilize the plane.
The plane made an emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. Machhchar and the co-pilot were taken to hospital, and the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia confirmed that the captain underwent emergency surgery and was in stable condition. The suspect was detained immediately after landing.
There were 174 people on board. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the captain saved the lives of all of them, including Israeli citizens and other passengers.
“Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he resisted, opened the cockpit door and allowed passengers and crew to neutralize the attacker,“ Netanyahu said.US President Donald Trump also called Machchar a hero. He said he had spoken at length with Netanyahu about the incident and that the pilot was in a very serious condition.
“India is proud of Captain Machchar,“ said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stressing that the pilot had shown courage and determination while seriously injured. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar wrote that the captain's presence of mind prevented a major tragedy.
Investigation of the attack continues
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as an attempted jihadist terrorist attack and said that the attacker wanted to crash the plane. However, his motives are still under investigation, and Flydubai confirmed that the official investigation into the case is ongoing.
After the emergency landing, the passengers were transported to Ben Gurion Airport by the airline's reserve plane. Netanyahu has also ordered tighter screening procedures for flights entering Israeli airspace.
Machchar was born in Mumbai and has about 15 years of professional experience. Before joining flydubai in June 2022, he worked for more than a decade at Indian airline SpiceJet, where he was a captain training younger pilots.
Sources: Independent