The flydubai incident: A miracle or a story of resourcefulness? - opinion
Hayoun’s act saved the plane and its passengers from a certain immediate crash.
The flydubai incident, which occurred last Wednesday, has been described by some as a miracle and by others as a tale of resourcefulness. According to the source, the event took place on flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai International Airport to Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel. The incident began when the Omani co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, allegedly stabbed the plane's Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, in an attempt to crash the plane and possibly over Israeli territory.
However, Machchhar's quick thinking and resourcefulness saved the day. Despite his severe injuries, he managed to send distress signals and open the locked cockpit door, allowing four Israeli passengers and two off-duty pilots to enter and provide assistance. One of the off-duty pilots, a British national, took control of the plane and managed to land it safely at Tabuk International Airport in Saudi Arabia, with the help of a Georgian dentist, Shota Musayev, who stopped Machchhar's bleeding.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested that Hammami's involvement might be linked to Iran, but there is no concrete evidence yet. The incident has raised questions about the requirements for pilots flying foreign companies' planes to Israel, with some claiming that such a stipulation does not exist.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
