Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar , who was injured after allegedly being attacked by his co-pilot aboard a flight from the UAE’s Dubai to Tel Aviv in Israel on Wednesday, told Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the terrifying moments inside the cockpit, including how he realised the aircraft was going down and made a final attempt to open the cockpit door.
He cited his 11-year experience of flying as captain and said he can gauge what goes on in a flight. “I had suffered so many injuries that I had collapsed. At that time, I could feel that the aircraft was going down.
I knew this was the last push, that the door was right there,” he said and credited other passengers who helped in neutralising the alleged attacking co-pilot. Machchhar, speaking to PM Modi from his hospital bed on Friday, said he “could not let all those people die. Smit Machchhar told PM Narendra Modi on Friday that he understood the gravity of the situation even while lying injured inside the cockpit.
“I was being hit even then, but I just opened the door and everyone came in. The aircraft reportedly lost around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute, according to Flightradar24.
Despite being injured and under attack, Machchhar said he knew he had to make one final attempt to get help. Machchhar said he turned to a Hanuman Chalisa during the ordeal. “I know God himself saved me,” he said and broke down during his conversation with PM Modi. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker called out to the aircrew, “Kill me, kill me”, and described the incident as involving someone who was “clear he was suicidal”.
