‘One last fight left in me’: Capt Smit Machchhar's detailed account of flydubai ‘crash attempt’ in call with Netanyahu

Captain Smit Machchhar of flydubai flight FZ1073 recounted the dramatic events that unfolded inside the cockpit during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Machchhar, the co-pilot asked to pray, and while he was looking forward, he felt a heavy blow to the back of his head. The blows continued, leaving Machchhar's vision severely blurred, and he initially thought the aircraft was damaged.

Machchhar soon realised that the co-pilot was attacking him with an axe, as reported by the UAE investigators, and managed to open the cockpit door despite suffering repeated blows. The aircraft was sharply descending at the time. With the door open, passengers entered and helped subdue the co-pilot. Two other flydubai pilots on board helped stabilise the plane, which made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Netanyahu praised Machchhar's courage, saying he had "saved so many souls." The Israeli Prime Minister invited Machchhar to Israel as a guest of honour and suggested that Machchhar and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi light a flame at a national ceremony for Israel's Independence Day next May. Netanyahu described Machchhar as a "true hero of the brave peoples of India and Israel and a hero of the entire world."

Brief written by urgent.news from Hindustan Times, Times of India, Free Malaysia Today, Live Mint, The Indian Express — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.