Indian pilot Smit Machchhar wins global praise after flydubai mid-air crisis

• Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar foiled an attempt by his co-pilot to allegedly crash an Israel-bound flydubai flight on September 30.

What happened during the flight?

• The flydubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, had transmitted emergency signals and made a sharp descent of more than 17,000 feet from 34,000 feet before diverting to Prince Sultan Bin Abdel Aziz Airport in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk city. 

• The flight was carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children.

• Captain Smit Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply. 

• The passengers wrestled the co-pilot from the cockpit and onto the floor of the main cabin where they bound his hands with headphones.

• Machchhar, who was stabbed and seriously injured, is recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital. 

• He spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing the terror he faced after being attacked in the closed cockpit.

• PM Modi lauded the pilot’s bravery, presence of mind and composure, and said Machchhar took a split-second decision that saved the lives of so many people.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his claim that the co-pilot, identified by Israeli officials as an Omani citizen, had undergone “radicalisation”, and was clearly suicidal, but that so far a motive for his actions had not been established. 

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over the incident.