Flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna makes emergency landing after bomb threat

October 18 - The pilot of a flydubai flight, who endured axe attacks from a co-pilot with the intent to crash the plane, recounted blocking the blows to his head and urgently seeking help as he reached for the cockpit door knob. Captain Smit Machchhar is now seen as a hero for his crucial role in preventing catastrophe during the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv last month, thwarting what the UAE attorney general described as a suicidal suicide attack.

The suspect, an Omani national, was transferred to the UAE, flydubai's home country, after the incident. The plan was allegedly inspired by the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US, according to UAE public prosecutors. Machchhar, speaking from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, detailed his harrowing experience in an interview with The National newspaper.

He described the initial shock of the first blow hitting the aircraft structure, followed by the realization that he was being attacked, prompting his immediate action to free himself from the seat belts and block the blows as much as possible. The blows were aimed at his head, and he reached for the knob to open the door, screaming for his colleagues and the other pilots on board.

Machchhar believed this was the first time he lost consciousness. As the aircraft plummeted 16,000 feet (4,900 meters) in just 30 seconds, the pilot and two other crew members managed to land the plane safely in Saudi Arabia. The attacker, an Omani national, was subsequently transferred to the UAE. The incident was investigated by UAE public prosecutors, who launched a criminal investigation on October 1.

Machchhar recounted the scariest moment being the aircraft nose steeply descending downwards. He expressed no doubt about his survival and whether he gave up in the face of such a harrowing ordeal.