A mother travelling with her four daughters has described the terrifying moments she feared her family would die aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073, which plunged almost 14,000ft in under 30 seconds after the co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain with an axe.
The Boeing 737 was heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when the incident unfolded. Passengers and crew reportedly raced towards the cockpit to help overpower the co-pilot before the aircraft was brought under control by two off-duty pilots. The captain was seriously injured and the flight was diverted to Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.
Mother recalls desperate choice
Lital Hirschl-Shahar, 38, who was travelling with her four daughters, said: “We saw death coming. We couldn’t breathe. My oldest of four daughters looked at me and said, ‘mum, you’re all grey’. I felt I had no blood in my face and head anymore.”
She added: “But as a mum, I didn’t care about myself. I was just worried about my four souls that were with me there. ‘What can I do? Who should I hold first? Whose hand to hold first? Who should I hug? How do I do that?’”
Speaking to the Daily Mail, she said: “I tried to stay calm for my girls, but the screams were ones you can never forget. I was sat in the middle, next to my five-year-old. I didn’t want them to be panicked, I just told them we are in God’s hands. And especially now, we just need to pray.”
Captain hailed as hero
Captain Smit Machchhar believed his colleague was praying and turned away, but co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami struck him on the back of the head with an axe. Smit managed to fight him off and open the cockpit door, allowing a passenger to spot the attack. She sprinted down the plane screaming: “He’s stabbing the pilot.”
The mum-of-four recalled seeing four men running to the front of the plane to help the injured captain as their children screamed: “Father, no! Come back.”
Smit is now described as the ‘hero pilot’ and was praised for saving the lives of the 174 passengers on board. Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “You are a true hero of the brave peoples of India and Israel and you are a hero of the entire world.”
The Indian national has been invited to visit the Jewish State as a guest of honour in May, alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to light a flame at a national ceremony for Israel’s Independence Day.
Investigation into co-pilot
Investigators have revealed the co-pilot planned the ‘terrorist act’ by attacking the captain with a weapon. Al Hammami was previously banned from flying over concerns of extreme views after he spent time in ISIS-controlled Syria, and had studied at Buckinghamshire New University.
Describing the attack, Smit said: “Suddenly after I think I would say about four to 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.”
He added: “I had that one last fight left in me. That’s when I pushed against everything. I gave everything that I had and just went for the door and opened the door and thankfully people were waiting.” Videos circulating online show Smit lying on the ground covered in blood as passengers tended to his injuries.
