'I was not going to let others die' - pilot of Flydubai flight describes cockpit attack by co-pilot — SkimNews
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- Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073, was stabbed repeatedly by his co-pilot but crawled back to force open the cockpit door from the floor so passengers and crew could subdue the attacker.
- The plane plunged more than 17,000ft (5,200m) after the attack, sent a hijacking signal (7500), and was diverted by the surviving crew to Tabuk Airport in north-western Saudi Arabia at 06:58 local time with over 170 passengers aboard.
- Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News the attacker was an Omani national who had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination" and screamed "kill me, kill me" after being tied up, calling his intentions "clearly suicidal" and saying he appeared to be trying to crash the plane.
- The UAE has launched an investigation into whether the incident was linked to terrorist activity, according to the country's state news agency.
- Machchhar spoke with Indian PM Narendra Modi via video call; Modi told him his "courage, patience and quick decision-making saved the lives of so many people" and that "the whole country was proud of him."
- Machchhar was airlifted from a Tabuk hospital to Abu Dhabi, where Ambassador Deepak Mittal said he is "in good health and recovering well" and Machchhar described his wound as "a journey" toward full recovery.
Why it matters: The mid-flight stabbing on a Dubai–Tel Aviv Flydubai flight — with 170+ people aboard — triggered a formal UAE terrorism probe and drew personal calls from Indian PM Modi and public praise from Netanyahu, highlighting both the cockpit-security implications for Gulf carriers flying to Israel and India's claim to a new national hero.
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