Indian pilot who fought off hijack attempt hailed as hero as Flydubai passengers describe terror onboard

• Disaster averted: An Indian pilot and passengers who thwarted an attempted hijacking of a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight have been hailed as heroes. The pilot — identified as Captain Smit Machchhar — “managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN.

• Terrifying moments: Passengers rushed the cockpit as Machchhar’s colleague attacked him as the plane plummeted 17,400 feet in less than two minutes. The plane was later diverted to Saudi Arabia and passengers have since returned safely to Israel. Flydubai has launched an investigation, an airline spokesperson said.

• Questions remain: Israel has called the incident an “attempted terrorist attack,” but no motive has been confirmed. The attacker has not been identified, but one Israeli official said he is an Omani national.

Authorities probe motivation of pilot and how Flydubai attack unfolded. Here's the latest

Authorities are investigating how and why a pilot stabbed his colleague on a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, sending the plane into a terrifying nosedive, causing panic onboard and forcing the flight to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

We’re learning more details about the horrifying and heroic scenes onboard after passengers and crew bravely rushed into the cockpit, thwarting the apparent hijack attempt, and landed the plane safely.

Here’s what we know:

Pilot hailed a hero: Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who was stabbed mid-air, has been hailed as a hero by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told CNN Machchhar “managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster.” Machchhar is in stable condition and being treated at a hospital in Saudi Arabia, according to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh.

Questions remain about attacker: The pilot who allegedly attacked Machchhar has not been identified, but one Israeli official said he is an Omani national. The suspect has since been detained and is being questioned by Saudi authorities, Netanyahu said Wednesday.

The investigation: Israeli officials have called the incident an “attempted terrorist attack,” but no motive has been confirmed. Netanyahu said Israel did not have any warning or intelligence about the incident. Flydubai flights to and from Israel are temporarily suspended. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar discussed the incident with his UAE counterpart and they agreed to cooperate against “extremist elements” threatening security.

Here’s what happened:

Distress call: Flydubai flight FZ1074 left Dubai at 6:05 a.m. local time Wednesday. About two hours later, the aircraft began quickly losing altitude and turned sharply to the north. The flight issued a distress call at 8:31 a.m., minutes before it squawked code 7500 — the International Civil Aviation Organization code to signal an aircraft hijacking.

Passengers scramble: After the cockpit door was thrust open, passengers raced to restrain the alleged attacker while others tended to a seriously wounded Machchhar. Passenger Adam Polo said it felt like he was riding “the craziest roller coaster” as the plane plunged 17,400 feet, while others on board said they thought they were going to die.

Safely diverted: Netanyahu and Flydubai said reserve pilots in the passenger area managed to regain control of the aircraft and land it safely at Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk Airport, where it touched down at 9:54 a.m.

Passengers reach Israel: The passengers then traveled on a substitute Flydubai plane to their final destination Tel Aviv, where they reunited with loved ones and received medical care.

Passengers describe terror of plummeting plane: "I was just sure I was going to die"

Passengers on board the Flydubai flight have described scenes of “complete chaos” and a “nightmare” as the plane plunged repeatedly, prompting some to say goodbye to their families.

Passenger Adam Polo, who was on the plane with his wife and two young children, recalled the terror of its sudden descent during the attack in the cockpit.

Polo described the descent as “the craziest roller coaster that you ever did, but multiplied by a thousand.” He recalled how people near the cockpit started shouting, “there is stabbing,” and that “everything was full of blood.”

Passenger Assaf Rajuan said that even after the attacker on the Flydubai flight to Israel was restrained, passengers remained terrified , not knowing who to trust and fearing a hostage situation.

Passengers didn’t even know if the person in control of the plane “was on our side, or who was on which side,” he added.

Flydubai passenger Mika Bauman described chaos aboard the flight that was diverted to Saudi Arabia, as children cried and passengers screamed.

“I was just sure I was going to die,” she said. “You’re just sitting there and accepting your fate.”

CNN’s Erin Burnett, Dana Karni, Hira Humayun, Jeremy Diamond, and Zeena Saifi contributed reporting.

What we know about the Indian pilot who thwarted hijack attempt

From Smit Machchhar/LinkedIn

Captain Smit Machchhar has been identified as the Indian pilot who was stabbed while helping thwart the apparent attempt to hijack the Flydubai plane en route to Israel on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Machchhar as a “true hero, ” saying he prevented “disaster for Israel” and saved the lives of the 174 people on the plane.

Netanyahu concluded by saying he wished “Captain Machchhar a speedy and full recovery.”

His condition: Machchhar suffered “massive blood loss” and was “severely wounded,” Dr. Shota Musaev, a dentist on board, told CNN. Video shared on social media and verified by CNN showed the pilot seriously wounded on the floor of the aircraft. Several passengers can be seen helping him and monitoring his vital signs.

Once the plane landed, Machchhar was taken to hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh earlier said he was in “stable condition” but was awaiting a full update on his health.

A hero: Machchhar has also been hailed as a hero in his home country, with leading news outlets praising his bravery. Many Indians have also taken to social media to express their pride.

Questions remain about the attacker on the Flydubai flight: What we know

The identity of the pilot who allegedly attacked Captain Smit Machchhar — the pilot who fought back in the attempted hijacking of the Israel-bound Flydubai flight FZ107 — remains unclear.

Nor do we know the other pilot’s motive or the weapon he used in the violent altercation.

One Israeli official said the alleged attacker was an Omani national.

Oman and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations, and it is not yet clear how the Omani pilot would have obtained clearance to fly to Israel. The suspected attacker has since been detained and is being questioned by Saudi authorities, Netanyahu said Wednesday.

But questions remain around how the incident unfolded and what motivated the pilot to instigate the bloody interaction.

Passengers arrived safely in Israel on a replacement Flydubai flight after Saudi Arabia rejected an Israeli request to send a military or civilian plane to bring passengers home. One passenger, Assaf Rajuan, said the person who attacked Machchhar was “neutralized” very quickly by a group of passengers and flight crew.

Rajuan said he and about five others helped subdue the attacker.

Pilot who fought back “managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster,” Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pilot on board the diverted Flydubai flight who fought back after another pilot in the cockpit appears to have tried to crash the plane “managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster.”

“That’s what it looks like was happening as far as the specific motivations of this,” he told CNN’s Jim Sciutto.

He said that he spoke with US President Donald Trump “about this amazing, amazing act of heroism that saved a disaster that would have been not only a disaster for Israel, but you can imagine how it could affect the global aviation.”

He went on to say that Israel did not have any warning or intelligence about the incident and that an investigation into it is underway.

“I spoke again to President (Sheikh Mohammed) bin Zahed of the United Arab Emirates, and he agreed immediately that we should join the investigation. And we’ll find out.”

Israel has called the incident an attempted terrorist attack, but has not made public the details behind the attacker’s motive.

• 灾难得以避免：一名印度飞行员和几名乘客挫败了一起从迪拜飞往特拉维夫航班的劫机企图，被誉为英雄。以色列总理内塔尼亚胡告诉CNN，这名飞行员——被确认为斯密特·马赫哈尔机长——“成功避免了一场类似9·11的灾难”。

• 惊魂时刻：飞机在不到两分钟的时间内从17400英尺的高空骤降，马赫查尔的同事袭击了他，乘客们纷纷冲进驾驶舱。飞机随后改道飞往沙特阿拉伯，乘客们也已安全返回以色列。迪拜航空发言人表示，航空公司已对此事展开调查。

• 仍有疑问：以色列已将此次事件定性为“恐怖袭击未遂”，但袭击动机尚未得到证实。袭击者身份尚未确定，但一名以色列官员表示，袭击者是阿曼公民。

当局正在调查飞行员的作案动机以及迪拜航空袭击事件的经过。以下是最新消息。

当局正在调查周三一架迪拜航空飞往特拉维夫的航班上，一名飞行员刺伤同事的经过和原因，导致飞机发生可怕的俯冲，造成机上恐慌，并迫使飞机在沙特阿拉伯紧急降落。

我们正在了解更多关于机上令人震惊又英勇的场景的细节：乘客和机组人员勇敢地冲进驾驶舱，挫败了明显的劫机企图，并安全降落了飞机。

我们目前掌握的情况如下：

飞行员被誉为英雄：在空中被刺伤的印度飞行员斯密特·马赫查尔上尉被印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪和以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡誉为英雄。内塔尼亚胡告诉CNN，马赫查尔“成功阻止了一场9·11灾难”。据印度驻利雅得大使馆消息，马赫查尔目前情况稳定，正在沙特阿拉伯一家医院接受治疗。

关于袭击者仍存在疑问：据称袭击马赫哈尔的飞行员身份尚未确定，但一名以色列官员表示，他是阿曼公民。内塔尼亚胡周三表示，嫌疑人已被拘留，目前正在接受沙特当局的讯问。

调查结果：以色列官员称此次事件为“恐怖袭击未遂”，但尚未确认其动机。内塔尼亚胡表示，以色列事先并未收到任何关于此事件的预警或情报。迪拜航空往返以色列的航班已暂时停飞。与此同时，以色列外交部长吉迪恩·萨尔与阿联酋外长就此事进行了磋商，双方同意合作打击威胁安全的“极端分子”。

事情经过是这样的：

遇险呼叫：迪拜航空FZ1074航班于周三当地时间早上6点05分从迪拜起飞。大约两小时后，飞机开始迅速下降高度并急转弯向北飞行。该航班于上午8点31分发出遇险呼叫，几分钟后，它发出了7500代码——国际民用航空组织用于发出飞机被劫持信号的代码。

乘客们惊慌失措：驾驶舱门被猛地打开后，乘客们争先恐后地制服了袭击者，其他人则忙着照顾身受重伤的马赫查尔。乘客亚当·波罗说，飞机从17400英尺的高空骤降时，他感觉自己就像在坐“最疯狂的过山车”，而机上其他乘客则表示，他们当时以为自己要死了。

安全改道：内塔尼亚胡和迪拜航空表示，客舱内的备用飞行员成功夺回飞机控制权，并使其安全降落在沙特阿拉伯塔布克机场，飞机于上午9点54分着陆。

乘客抵达以色列：随后，乘客们乘坐迪拜航空的替代飞机前往最终目的地特拉维夫，在那里他们与亲人团聚并接受了医疗护理。

乘客们描述了飞机坠落时的恐惧：“我当时确信自己必死无疑。”

Flydubai航班上的乘客描述了飞机反复俯冲时“一片混乱”和“噩梦般的”场景，导致一些乘客不得不与家人告别。

乘客亚当·波罗当时和妻子以及两个年幼的孩子都在飞机上，他回忆起袭击发生时驾驶舱内飞机突然下降的恐怖情景。

波罗将这次下降形容为“你坐过的最疯狂的过山车，但还要乘以一千倍”。他回忆说，驾驶舱附近的人们开始大喊“有人在刺伤人”，而且“到处都是血”。

乘客阿萨夫·拉胡安表示，即使在飞抵以色列的迪拜航空航班上的袭击者被制服后，乘客们仍然感到恐惧，不知道该相信谁，并且担心会发生人质劫持事件。

他还补充说，乘客们甚至不知道飞机的控制者“是站在我们这边的，还是站在我们这边的”。

迪拜航空乘客米卡·鲍曼描述了飞机改道飞往沙特阿拉伯时的混乱场面，孩子们哭泣，乘客尖叫。

“我当时确信自己要死了，”她说。“你只能坐在那里，接受自己的命运。”

CNN 的艾琳·伯内特、达纳·卡尔尼、希拉·胡马云、杰里米·戴蒙德和泽娜·赛菲也参与了报道。

我们对挫败劫机企图的印度飞行员了解多少？

来自 Smit Machchhar/LinkedIn

经确认，印度飞行员斯密特·马赫查尔上尉在周三协助挫败一起疑似劫持迪拜航空飞往以色列飞机的企图时被刺伤。

以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡称赞马赫哈尔是“真正的英雄”，称他阻止了“以色列的灾难”，并拯救了飞机上 174 人的生命。

内塔尼亚胡最后表示，他祝愿“马赫查尔上尉早日康复”。

据机上牙医肖塔·穆萨耶夫博士向CNN透露，马赫查尔“大量失血”且“伤势严重”。社交媒体上流传并经CNN核实的视频显示，飞行员马赫查尔重伤倒在飞机地板上，几名乘客正在帮助他并监测他的生命体征。

飞机降落后，马赫查尔被送往沙特阿拉伯塔布克的一家医院。印度驻利雅得大使馆此前表示，他目前“情况稳定”，但仍在等待关于他健康状况的最新消息。

英雄：马查尔在祖国也被誉为英雄，各大新闻媒体纷纷赞扬他的英勇行为。许多印度民众也在社交媒体上表达了他们的自豪之情。

关于迪拜航空航班袭击者的疑问仍然存在：我们目前知道的情况

据称袭击了在以色列飞往迪拜航空 FZ107 航班劫机事件中奋起反抗的机长斯密特·马赫哈尔的飞行员的身份仍然不明。

我们也不知道另一名飞行员的作案动机，也不知道他在激烈冲突中使用的武器。

一名以色列官员称，袭击者是阿曼公民。

阿曼和以色列没有正式外交关系，目前尚不清楚这名阿曼飞行员是如何获得飞往以色列的许可的。内塔尼亚胡周三表示，这名嫌疑袭击者已被拘留，并正在接受沙特当局的讯问。

但事件是如何发生的，以及是什么动机促使飞行员挑起这场血腥冲突，这些问题仍然存在疑问。

在沙特阿拉伯拒绝以色列派遣军用或民用飞机接回乘客的请求后，乘客们乘坐迪拜航空的替代航班安全抵达以色列。一名乘客阿萨夫·拉胡安表示，袭击马赫哈尔的凶手很快就被一群乘客和机组人员制服了。

拉胡安说，他和另外五人合力制服了袭击者。

内塔尼亚胡说，奋力反抗的飞行员“成功阻止了一场9·11灾难”。

以色列总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡表示，在迪拜航空一架改道航班上，一名飞行员在驾驶舱内另一名飞行员似乎试图坠毁飞机后奋起反抗，“成功阻止了一场 9·11 灾难”。

“就具体动机而言，看起来就是这样，”他告诉 CNN 的吉姆·夏托。

他说，他与美国总统唐纳德·特朗普谈了“这一惊人的英勇行为，它挽救了一场灾难，这场灾难不仅对以色列来说是一场灾难，而且你可以想象它会对全球航空业产生怎样的影响。”

他接着说，以色列方面事先没有收到任何关于这起事件的警告或情报，目前正在对此事进行调查。

“我再次与阿联酋总统（谢赫·穆罕默德·本·扎赫德）进行了交谈，他立即同意我们应该加入调查。我们会查明真相。”

以色列已将该事件定性为恐怖袭击未遂，但尚未公开袭击者的动机细节。