Blow to head, vision gone, plane plunging: Capt Smit recounts cockpit attack

Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar has recounted the tense moments inside the cockpit of a flydubai flight when his Omani co-pilot attacked him, saying he initially thought the aircraft had suffered damage before realising that he was being hit by the man seated beside him.

Machchhar described the sequence of events during a video call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who praised the Indian pilot for his actions and invited him, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to light a ceremonial torch at Israel's next Independence Day celebrations.

"Captain Smith, can you hear me?" Netanyahu asked at the beginning of the conversation.

"I can hear you, sir. How are you?" Machchhar replied.

"I'm fine, but how do you feel?" Netanyahu asked.

"I'm getting there, I can tell you," Machchhar said.

Netanyahu then wished him a speedy recovery before asking him to explain how the incident began.

'I thought something was not right with the aircraft'

Machchhar said the co-pilot stood up to pray and that he deliberately did not look back out of respect.

"It was a normal flight, and the co-pilot wanted to pray, which a lot of locals do. While he was praying, out of respect, I just looked at the front and not at the back," he said.

He said that about four or five minutes later, he suddenly felt a heavy blow to the back of his head, which he initially thought was an impact involving the aircraft.

"After about four or five minutes, my first thought was damage to the aircraft and something is not right," Machchhar said.

"But then the blow kept coming, one after the other. And that's when I realised that it's not the aircraft, it's the other guy who was in the cockpit with me."

Machchhar said he tried to stop the co-pilot but was badly affected by the initial blows.

"I did try to stop him, but because of his initial blows, my vision was almost like nothing. And I was completely blurred out," he said.

He then realised the aircraft was descending sharply.

"At that point, the next thought, the next feeling that I had was that the aircraft was sharply going down," Machchhar said.

"My memory is still intact. It's in bits and pieces right now. But this is what I remember out of that time."

The pilot said he managed to open the cockpit door once, but the co-pilot closed it again.

"I did try and manage to open the door once, but I think he shut it back closed," he said.

Machchhar recalled being on the cockpit floor while hearing sounds from the cabin.

"At this point, I remember I was lying down on the cockpit floor and the whooshing sound and people screaming," he said.

He said he then realised he had one final opportunity to act.

"As I was telling the ambassador, here that I had that one last fight left in me, that, you know, call it personal or call it for people. But let's say I did it that if I don't do it, I'm going to die," Machchhar said.

"And that's when I pushed against everything. I gave everything that I had and just went for the door and opened the door."

He said people were waiting outside when he managed to open it.

"And thankfully, people were waiting to bounce back, took over the control, and the rest is what, you know," he said.

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE FLIGHT

Machchhar's account sheds light on the sequence of events inside the cockpit, from the co-pilot standing up to pray and the first blows that the captain initially mistook for possible damage to the aircraft, to the repeated attacks, his blurred vision and his attempts to open the cockpit door.

The incident took place aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30. The Omani co-pilot allegedly attacked Machchhar inside the cockpit, prompting passengers and crew members to intervene after the captain managed to open the cockpit door.

The aircraft was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely. UAE authorities have described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack and said the co-pilot attacked the captain with a cockpit crash axe.

Machchhar's account provides a first-hand description of what happened inside the cockpit before others were able to intervene and help bring the situation under control.

NETANYAHU PRAISES MACHCHHAR'S COURAGE

Netanyahu said he was "frankly amazed" by Machchhar's courage and judgment under extremely difficult circumstances.

"Well, I, you know, I'm frankly, I'm amazed at your courage, at your coolness of judgment under impossible conditions," Netanyahu said.

He then asked Machchhar how he had managed to open the cockpit door.

"How did you get to pull? You pulled the pin that opens the pilot's door, the cockpit door?" Netanyahu asked.

Machchhar clarified that there was no pin that needed to be pulled, saying the cockpit door had a twist-to-open mechanism.

"From the outside, it could only be opened with a code. My colleagues from outside were trying to put in the code, but the guy was not allowing them to enter the code," he said, adding that the only way to open the door from inside was to reach the knob.

"It was a short, quick twist. Once I had my hands on the knob, I twisted and opened it," he said.

Netanyahu responded with a play on words.

"A twist of fate and a twist of faith," he said.

The Israeli prime minister said he had heard from Israeli passengers about what happened after Machchhar opened the door.

"What you did is remarkable. I heard, of course, from the Israeli passengers what transpired after that. And you're a great hero and you were accompanied by heroes and you saved the day. You saved so many souls," Netanyahu said.

"I think you saved something bigger. You saved the spirit of the world to realise that a brave pilot and brave passengers can overcome this evil, however threatening, however violent."

Netanyahu said Machchhar's actions had been praised internationally.

"It's something that is being justly hailed around the world. You're a hero of Israel. You're a hero of India. You're a hero of the entire world," he said.

'THE DENTIST SAVED MY LIFE'

Netanyahu also mentioned the Israeli dentist who treated Machchhar after the incident.

"I can tell you that people here will welcome you with open arms, as you know, including the dentist, the dentist who treated you," Netanyahu said.

"I asked him, did you ever have to, you know, it's not pulling teeth exactly. He said that you were exceedingly brave. And I have to say that this borders on the miraculous."

Machchhar said he wanted to meet the dentist.

"I would love to meet him as well. Well, he saved my life, to be honest," he said.

"Well, you know, you together, you saved so many lives," Netanyahu replied.

Netanyahu also asked Machchhar to convey his regards to his wife.

"Please also pass the best regards from me and my wife to your wife. I know you have a family and know that you are part of our family of nations. We're part of the family of nations and the heroic part," he said.

NETANYAHU INVITES MUCHCHHAR, PM MODI TO ISRAEL

Netanyahu then extended the invitation to Machchhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to participate in Israel's Independence Day ceremony.

"Captain, I want to invite you and my dear friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to light a celebratory flame on our next Independence Day," Netanyahu said.

He described the honour as one that is normally reserved for Israeli citizens.

"It's our highest honour that we give in our Independence Day. It's usually reserved for Israeli citizens," Netanyahu said.

"But I think here in this case, all the citizens of Israel will embrace you. They do now and they will then, too."

Netanyahu said he hoped to welcome Machchhar to Israel soon.

"So we hope to see you very soon in Israel. And I look forward to seeing you, sir. I look forward to seeing you here again," he said.

"But under the circumstances, I think this will be a memorable and historic visit."

Machchhar thanked Netanyahu for speaking to him.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you for everything you did. Thank you. It was an honour talking to you," he said.

The conversation came as Machchhar continues to recover from the injuries sustained in the cockpit incident.