Pilot, plumber and dentist ‘hero’ among those who saved Flydubai flight to Israel | Israel

SMit Machchhar was lying on the floor of Flydubai’s cockpit, covered in blood, when he managed to press the trigger to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to enter, subdue his attacker and rescue 174 passengers on board.

Moments earlier, Machchhar’s fellow pilot had stabbed him, in an apparent attempt to crash the plane that was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Machchhar, an Indian citizen from Mumbai, is being treated at a hospital in Tabuk, a city in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the plane landed safely.

Machchhar is just one of several people hailed as heroes for successfully regaining control of the plane from the attacker who had apparently tried to crash the plane, according to Israeli officials, who also provided extensive details about how events unfolded inside the plane.

In an article on X on Thursday morning, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Machchhar as a “hero”.

“In the face of the gravest danger and despite his serious injuries, he showed immense courage and unwavering determination to protect the lives of others. His bravery helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy,” Modi said.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was equally impressed by Machchhar’s actions. “Although he was stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door and allowed the passengers and crew to subdue the attacker.”

The incident began with a struggle, when Machchhar’s fellow pilot – believed to be an Omani national – stabbed him and sent the plane plunging nearly 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) in less than 30 seconds.

Shortly after, several passengers were able to enter the cockpit to help subdue the attacker.

“What made it difficult for us was (Machchhar) himself,” said Yaniv Hayoun, who was among those in the cockpit and whom Netanyahu described as a plumber. “He had been stabbed and was on the other side of the door.”

Hayoun later told Netanyahu that as people struggled against the attacker, “I jumped back, grabbed the controls and started pulling the handles,” as he had seen on television broadcasts. Then other members of the crew took over.

Dr. Shota Musaev, a dentist on board, was also among those who ran to the cockpit. He told CNN they found the attacker on the ground above the pilot, stabbing him. He then rushed to help Machchhar, “terrified” of dying.

“He was covered in cuts – his head, his hands – they were practically cut open, almost cut in half… he had lost a lot of blood and was in bad shape.

“I think if we had waited a few more moments we would have lost him; his blood pressure dropped, he suddenly lost consciousness and there was blood everywhere,” he said.

Musaev told CNN that he also helped subdue the attacker, recalling that he tied him up using headphone cords and plastic zip ties.

Other crew members then stabilized the plane’s descent and began landing it safely in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Among those who intervened was an off-duty British pilot, according to passenger Almog Itali, who said the plane was carrying two relief pilots who were scheduled to make the next flight.

“The relief pilots are European, including one British, who came in (the cockpit) and pulled the plane up, pulled the yoke, stabilized the plane and landed us in Saudi Arabia,” Itali said in a clip published by the BBC. Other reports suggest that the off-duty pilots came from South Africa or New Zealand.

Indian media reported that Machchhar had undergone surgery in Saudi Arabia, while Indian authorities say he is in stable condition. They say they have been in contact with his family – believed to consist of a wife and two children – who live in Dubai.

Aviation experts expressed surprise that the plane did not crash after a descent so extreme that most of the rudder was torn from the tail. One passenger described the moment of the dive as “massive turbulence…for 20 or 30 seconds.”

“It took a serious descent and strong aerodynamic forces on the rudder for this to happen. I’m just amazed the plane didn’t break apart,” said Steve Arroyo, a former United Airlines pilot and aviation safety expert.

“What saved them was that they had enough altitude left to recover,” said Guzzetti, another aviation expert, who said it might not have been possible for the plane to stabilize if it had fallen below 10,000 feet.

The fact that Machchhar was able to unlock the cockpit door, allowing other passengers to enter and take control of the plane, undoubtedly saved all passengers on board. Philip Kean, managing director of Mainland Air in New Zealand – where Machchhar trained for 18 months in 2008 and 2009 – said the pilot showed leadership after being attacked in flight.

Calling Machchhar an above-average pilot, Kean told New Zealand publication Stuff that pilots train for all eventualities, but handling that successfully when it happened in reality was a “completely different story”.