Netanyahu's call with hero flydubai pilot ends with invite for him and PM Modi
During the conversation with Netanyahu, he also recounted how he opened the cockpit door during the attack, allowing passengers to intervene.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday invited Indian flydubai pilot Captain Smit Machchhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light a torch at Israel’s Independence Day ceremony next May, praising the captain’s courage during the cockpit attack.
Netanyahu extended the invitation during a conversation with the 38-year-old pilot, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Abu Dhabi.
“You are a true hero of the brave peoples of India and Israel and you are a hero of the entire world,” Netanyahu said in a video of their telephone conversation released by his office.
Netanyahu said the honour is usually reserved for Israeli citizens but added that Machchhar would be embraced by Israelis. “It's our highest honour that we give on our Independence Day. It's usually reserved for Israeli citizens, but I think here in this case, all the citizens of Israel will embrace you,” he said.
“During the emotional conversation that took place this evening, the Prime Minister asked Captain Machchhar how it all started, and Machchhar revealed new details about the terrifying moments in the cockpit,” Netanyahu’s office said.
Machchhar was severely injured when his Omani co-pilot attacked him aboard Wednesday’s Dubai-Tel Aviv flight. The co-pilot allegedly struck him with a crash axe, an emergency tool typically kept inside the cockpit.
The flydubai flight FZ1073, carrying 174 passengers, transmitted emergency signals and made a rapid descent of more than 17,000 feet from an altitude of 34,000 feet. The aircraft later made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after the extreme descent, during which part of the rudder was reportedly torn away.
‘I HAD THAT ONE LAST FIGHT LEFT IN ME’
Machchhar said the co-pilot had asked to take time to pray. Out of respect, he continued looking ahead rather than turning towards him.
About four to five minutes later, he felt a blow to the back of his head and initially thought the aircraft had suffered catastrophic damage.
“My first thought was that there was catastrophic damage to the aircraft and something was not right. But then after that, the blows 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,” he said.
“But then, after that, the blows kept coming one after the other. That’s when I realised that it’s not the aircraft, it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me,” he said.
Machchhar said his memory was not entirely clear because of his injury. He recalled pulling open the cockpit door, but believed the co-pilot had shut it again. “I had that one last fight left in me,” he said.
“That’s when I pushed against everything. I gave everything that I had and just went for the door and opened the door and, thankfully, people were waiting.”
Passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot. Reserve pilots aboard flight FZ1073, which was carrying 174 passengers, then landed the aircraft at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu told Machchhar he was “amazed at his courage” and his “coolness of judgment under impossible conditions”.
Machchhar received initial treatment in Tabuk before being transferred to Abu Dhabi. He was reported to be in stable condition.
UAE CALLS INCIDENT A TERRORIST ATTACK
The UAE Attorney General on Saturday described the incident as a “terrorist attack”, saying the co-pilot had planned the assault, struck Machchhar with the aircraft’s crash axe and then tried to take control of the plane.
Al Arabiya identified the co-pilot as Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national. Three people familiar with the investigation also confirmed his identity to the Associated Press.
AP reported that Oman had previously barred al-Hammami from flying over concerns that he had adopted extremist views.
He was later hired by flydubai. It remains unclear what the airline knew about his removal from flying duties or how extensively he was vetted.
PM MODI, UAE LEADERS PRAISE PILOT
PM Narendra Modi spoke to Machchhar by video call on Friday, praising his quick decisions and wishing him a speedy recovery.
“You have taken so many decisions in a fraction of a second. And you have saved the lives of so many people,” PM Modi told him.
UAE Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum visited Machchhar in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
He conveyed the UAE leadership’s appreciation, saying the pilot had shown “the highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life”.