{
  "id": 15243840,
  "title": "'Blows kept coming, I felt the aircraft going down': Flydubai captain on the cockpit battle to save his plane",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/blows-kept-coming-i-felt-the-aircraft-going-down-flydubai-captain-on-15243840",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-17T17:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National Business",
    "slug": "the-national-business",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2026/10/17/blows-kept-coming-i-felt-the-aircraft-going-down-flydubai-captain-on-the-cockpit-battle-to-save-his-plane/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar recounted the harrowing moments of a terrorist attack on his Boeing 737 over the Arabian Desert. In a world exclusive interview with The National, the captain revealed that his co-pilot repeatedly struck him with an axe, attempting to hijack the aircraft and killing all 172 people on board. The co-pilot, who prosecutors said was radicalized by online Islamist content, showed no signs of unusual behavior before the attack. Capt Machchhar, suffering serious injuries, managed to lock the cockpit door and escape the plane, which plunged 17,000 feet in less than a minute. The co-pilot was detained in the UAE and faces terrorism charges.",
  "summary": "Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar has spoken of the moment his co-pilot repeatedly struck him with an axe before sending their Boeing 737 plunging towards the Arabian Desert, with the intention of killing 172 people on board. In a world exclusive interview with The National from his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, Capt Machchhar said the first officer sitting next to him for two hours had shown no sign…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National UAE",
        "title": "'Blows kept coming, I felt the aircraft going down': Flydubai captain on the cockpit battle to save his plane",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/blows-kept-coming-i-felt-the-aircraft-going-down-flydubai-captain-on",
        "published": "2026-10-17T17:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Arutz Sheva - Israel National News",
        "title": "'The plane was diving': Flydubai pilot recounts cockpit attack",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/the-plane-was-diving-flydubai-pilot-recounts-cockpit-attack",
        "published": "2026-10-17T17:42:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "‘That was when the battle for survival began’: flydubai captain recounts cockpit attack",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/that-was-when-the-battle-for-survival-began-flydubai-captain-recounts",
        "published": "2026-10-17T18:17:43.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}