A close friend of the pilot allegedly attacked with an axe during a flight to Tel Aviv has spoken of his heartbreak and shock upon hearing the news.
FlyDubai co-pilot, Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, is accused of attacking Captain Smit Machchhar with an axe before trying to take over the plane. The flight, carrying 182 people, nearly crashed before passengers and others stepped in.
Friend's disbelief
Captain Dhaval Patel, a fellow pilot who trained with Machchhar in New Zealand, spoke to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), revealing that he and Machchhar have been acquainted for "close to two decades" according to PEOPLE.
"I saw the first glimpse, and I was just not ready to believe it was Captain Smit," he said, recalling the moment he found out about the attack. "When it happens to the person you know, the person you love, it breaks you. I vividly remember him helping colleagues and peers, educating them on the concepts of aviation with so much clarity and knowledge. And I had the privilege of getting my fourth stripe on becoming a captain by his hand."
Captain's account
Captain Machchhar recounted how he suffered blows to the back of his head, "one after the other". The severely injured captain stated that he used his remaining strength while being stabbed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing individuals who had heard alarmingly unusual noises to enter, subdue the co-pilot and stabilise the aircraft.
During a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Captain Machchhar outlined the horrifying assault in greater detail. He stated: "It was a normal flight. The co-pilot wanted to pray, which a lot of locals do. It's not out of the ordinary."
"While he was praying, out of respect, I was looking at the front and not at the back [of the cockpit]. After about four or five minutes, there was a big blow to the back of my head. My first thought was that there was catastrophic damage to the aircraft and something is not right."
"But after that, the blows kept coming, one after the other. That's when I realised it wasn't the aicraft. It was the other guy who was in the cockpit with me. I did try to stop him but because of his initial blows, my vision was almost like nothing. I was completely blurred out and, at that point, the next feeling that I had was that the aircraft was sharply going down."
"My memory is still in bits and pieces but this is what I remember. I did manage to open the door once but I think he shut it back. I was lying down on the cockpit floor and I felt the aircraft and the whooshing sound and people screaming. I had one last fight left in me."
"Call it personal or for the people, but I knew that if I didn't [open the door], I was going to die. That's when I pushed against everything I had and opened the door. Thankfully, people were waiting to pounce back and take over control. The rest is what you know, sir."
Passenger heroes
Two passengers reportedly assisted in taking control of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and landing it. Passenger Almog Itali said one of them was a British pilot and that they "entered (the cockpit) and pulled the aircraft up, pulled the yoke, stabilised the plane and landed us in Saudi Arabia".
Fighter jets were dispatched to accompany the aircraft during its emergency landing, reports the Express.
Yaniv Hayoun was one of the passengers hailed a "hero" by the Israeli Prime Minister after he overpowered the knife-wielding man who allegedly stabbed the plane's pilot. He disclosed that he had learned how to land the jet after watching a TV programme, Air Crash Investigation.
Yaniv informed Benjamin Netanyahu: "We pinned him down to keep him secure and then I jumped into it (the cockpit) and pulled the controls." When asked by Netanyahu how he knew to pull in a backwards motion, Yaniv responded: "I watch Air Crash Investigations Mr Prime Minister."
Captain Machchhar was hailed as a "true hero" by the Israeli prime minister, who expressed his amazement at Captain Machchhar's "courage and coolness of judgement under impossible conditions". Mr Netanyahu stated that the pilot had "saved so many souls" during the incident.
Mr Netanyahu alleged the co-pilot had experienced "Islamist radicalisation", yet offered no proof. UAE authorities have labelled the incident as "terrorist" in a statement quoting the UAE attorney general.
