'Prepared ourselves for the worst': FlyDubai passenger recounts moments during cockpit attack
Almog Italie and his family were on the final leg of their trip home following a vacation in Japan when they felt FlyDubai flight FZ1073 plummet. Italie was one of 174 people on board the plane earlier this week when one of the pilots stabbed the other in an attempt to crash the plane. The flight plunged 30,000 feet in under 30 seconds.
Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who thwarted a mid-flight attack on a flydubai plane, has recounted his harrowing ordeal to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi. Describing the attack that nearly crashed the flight, Machchhar stated that he opened the cockpit door while still being assaulted on the ground, ultimately enabling passengers to escape.
The incident, which saw the plane plummet nearly 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds, forced an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it safely landed. The incident occurred on Wednesday, while the flight was en route to Tel Aviv with 174 passengers on board. Capt. Machchhar attributed his courage to reciting the Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu devotional hymn, during those desperate moments.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also hailed Capt. Machchhar as a hero for his actions. Born and raised in India, Capt. Machchhar has served with flydubai for about four years and previously worked with SpiceJet for 11 years, where he held the positions of senior commander and line training captain, amassing over 9,750 flying hours.
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- ‘I was fighting for my life’: Pilot hailed as hero recalls FlyDubai cockpit attack abcnews.com
- Flydubai 'hero' pilot says praying gave him courage abc.net.au
- 'No mental capacity to react': Flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar's wife recalls shock timesofindia.indiatimes.com
- ‘I couldn’t let everybody else die,’ says hero Flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar peopledaily.digital
- FlyDubai pilot on cockpit attack: 'I was fighting for my life' thehill.com
- Was chanting 'Hanuman Chalisa': Pilot Machchhar recounts cockpit fightback to Modi iol.co.za
- Flydubai pilot 'could not let people die' as he describes fight to open cockpit door news.sky.com
- Flydubai pilot says he could not let passengers die rte.ie
