The captain of a Flydubai passenger jet who survived a knife attack inside the cockpit has detailed how he managed to unlock the armored flight deck door while bleeding heavily, averting what could have been a catastrophic plunge over the Arabian Peninsula. Captain Smit Machchhar was piloting flight FZ1073 from Dubai toward Tel Aviv when his first officer attacked him without warning, sending the aircraft into a sharp dive.
All 170 passengers and crew members survived the incident.
The disruption began two and a half hours into the scheduled flight as the Boeing aircraft suddenly dropped more than 17,000 feet. Flight tracking records confirmed an initial emergency alert followed immediately by transponder code 7500, the international signal designating an ongoing hijacking. Lying wounded on the cockpit floor, Machchhar recognized the steep descent and exerted his remaining physical strength to release the door latch from within.
Several passengers rushed forward alongside two relief pilots who happened to be traveling in the main cabin. Together, the group overpowered the knife-wielding co-pilot, tied him down, and allowed the reserve flight crew to regain manual control of the controls.
The aircraft diverted north-west and landed safely at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking later from his hospital recovery bed during a video exchange with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Machchhar explained that his 17 years in commercial aviation enabled him to instantly read the aircraft`s critical condition despite his injuries. He stated that while he was fighting for his personal survival on the floor, his overriding priority was preventing the loss of everyone on board.
Saudi authorities detained the co-pilot, an Omani national, directly upon touchdown on the tarmac. Federal investigators in the United Arab Emirates have formally opened an inquiry into the motives and background of the assailant, while Machchhar has been transferred from Tabuk to a specialized medical facility in Abu Dhabi where doctors confirm he is in stable condition.
