Help me: Video shows stabbed Indian pilot's desperate call amid flydubai horror
The video, filmed from a seat near the flydubai aircraft's cockpit, was likely shot after Captain Smit Machchhar unlocked the cockpit door - a decisive move that prevented a massive disaster.
A new video has shed fresh light on the terrifying moments aboard the flydubai flight, in which Captain Smit Machchhar, severely wounded after being stabbed by the co-pilot, is seen seeking desperate help from passengers. "Help me, help me," Machchhar can be heard shouting from inside the cockpit as passengers rushed in.
The video, posted by Israeli news portal i24, captured the chaotic moments aboard the Tel Aviv-bound flight (FZ 1073) as passengers thwarted an apparent attempt by the co-pilot, an Omani national, to crash the aircraft. The video, filmed from a seat near the cockpit, was likely shot after Machchhar unlocked the cockpit door, a decisive move that prevented a disaster.
It allowed passengers to rush into the cockpit and overpower the co-pilot, who Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed underwent "radical Islamist indoctrination" and was "clearly suicidal".
FLYDUBAI HORROR: NEW VIDEO CAPTURES CHAOS
In the video, one person can be heard saying "he tried to crash the plane", in reference to the Omani co-pilot who stabbed the captain. It is yet to be confirmed whether the co-pilot carried a knife or used the fire axe that is factory-fitted in the cockpit for the attack.
Others are seen shouting "take him out", as another passenger is heard ordering people in the cabin to "sit down".
The footage also shows a passenger wearing a blood-stained white T-shirt near the cockpit. The passenger is likely Yaniv Hayun, an Israeli plumber, who subdued the co-pilot and also steered the aircraft's levers to prevent it from nosediving.
The video then shows the people near the cockpit calling for a doctor. Dr Shota Musaev, an Israeli dentist, is then seen rushing to the front of the plane.
Later, in an exclusive interview with India Today, Dr Musaev described the chilling moment.
"He (Machchhar) was lying on the floor, was conscious, but lost a lot of blood. He had deep cuts in his arms and neck," he said.
The next second, a man is seen asking in Hebrew whether there was an additional pilot on the flight. A voice can be heard responding affirmatively from the back of the cabin.
'HIT ME SO MANY TIMES'
Another video that has gone viral showed a bloodied Captain Machchhar, with an oxygen mask on, lying on the ground outside the cockpit. It was probably shot after the earlier video.
He (co-pilot) "hit me so many times", Machchhar is seen explaining to the passengers. He then says that he can move his injured hand but can no longer squeeze it shut.
"My hand can move, but I can't do this. I can't squeeze my hand," he is heard saying. Another video, posted by the Associated Press, shows a passenger urging the captain "not to sleep".
The wounded attacker, whose uniform is also covered in blood, is also seen nearby. Netanyahu said the passengers told him that the co-pilot shouted "kill me, kill me" after he was overpowered.
The flight, which suffered a rapid drop of around 17,000 feet in around two minutes, eventually made an emergency landing at Saudi Arabia's Tabuk airport.
Two off-duty flydubai pilots, who were on the aircraft as passengers, carried out the landing in miraculous circumstances despite most of the aircraft's rudder being ripped off the tail.
Captain Machchhar, who hails from Gujarat and was previously with SpiceJet, has been shifted to the UAE for treatment. He is presently stable.
Investigators from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel are still trying to find the motive behind the horrific attack that could have well resulted in one of the worst aviation disasters in recent history.