‘I could not let all those people die’: Flydubai pilot recounts cockpit attack

An Indian pilot, Smit Machchhar, heroically thwarted a potential disaster on a flydubai flight from the UAE to Israel by opening the cockpit door despite being attacked and injured by his co-pilot, allowing passengers and crew to regain control and make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

This incident, described by UAE authorities as a "terrorist act," is under investigation, with initial reports suggesting the attacker, an Omani national, showed signs of suicidal behavior.

Leaders such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Machchhar's actions for saving many lives.

In response, flydubai has temporarily suspended flights connecting the UAE and Israel, while efforts are underway to repatriate affected passengers.

DUBAI, Oct 3 — An Indian pilot attacked by his co-pilot aboard a flight from the UAE to Israel said yesterday that he “could not let all those people die”, in his first public remarks after he helped stop the plane from crashing.

His actions on Wednesday helped avert disaster when he managed to open the cockpit door despite his injuries, allowing passengers and crew to take control of the plane and make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

United Arab Emirates presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said yesterday that the incident aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was a “terrorist act” after the co-pilot was returned to the country.

The mostly Israeli passengers on the flight have been flown back to Israel on a replacement plane.

Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a call from his hospital bed that he knew he had to act quickly, saying that opening the cockpit door was a “last push” to get help.

“I had suffered so many injuries that I had collapsed. At that time, I could feel that the aircraft was going down. I knew this was the last push, that the door was right there,” he said.

“I was being hit even then, but I just opened the door and everyone came in.”

Machchhar, who has 17 years of aviation experience, including 11 as a captain, described the moment he realised the plane was going down while he was lying injured.

He told Modi that during the ordeal, he had recited a Hindu devotional prayer dedicated to the deity Hanuman.

“I know God himself saved me,” he said.

The pilot said years of aviation experience allowed him to understand what was happening even while he was wounded.

The UAE’s general civil aviation authority yesterday commended Machchhar, the flight crew and passengers who responded to the attack.

“Their decisive and swift intervention, and the sense of responsibility behind it, helped contain the situation and prevented more serious consequences, reflecting a level of readiness, cooperation and shared responsibility in facing exceptional emergencies,” it said in a statement published by official UAE news agency WAM.

The circumstances of the confrontation are under investigation, but the co-pilot allegedly attacked Machchhar, leaving him wounded and triggering a struggle for control of the aircraft.

Passengers described rushing the cockpit and a fight for control after the plane plummeted — losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website.

Modi said Machchhar’s actions helped save many lives and averted “a great tragedy”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier also credited Machchhar and the passengers with averting a catastrophe.

US President Donald Trump warned on Thursday that if Iran was found to be linked to the attack the country would be “hit very hard”.

Netanyahu has said the suspect had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”.

“The attacker, he calls out to the aircrew, ‘Kill me, kill me’,” Netanyahu told US media, adding it was “clear he was suicidal”.

The Israeli leader identified the co-pilot as an Omani national and said Israel would check how he had been cleared to work on flights to the country.

“We have constraints that say that you can’t have pilots from countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel. Obviously he was able to go through that,” Netanyahu told Fox News.

Flydubai has suspended flights to and from Israel since the attack, leaving some Israelis stranded in the UAE.

The first Israeli flight from the United Arab Emirates after the flydubai attack took off from Dubai for Tel Aviv yesterday, flown by Israeli carrier Arkia, according to Dubai’s international airport, with Israeli media calling it a repatriation flight.

It came after Israel’s flag carrier El Al said it was planning replacement flights to bring Israeli nationals home but was forced to cancel them yesterday, saying Emirati authorities had not given landing permission.

“As soon as approval is received from the authorities, we are prepared to carry out the special flights to Dubai and return the Israelis home as soon as possible,” El Al said in an online notice. — AFP

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印度飞行员斯米特·马赫查尔 (Smit Machchhar) 在阿联酋飞往以色列的迪拜航空航班上英勇地打开了驾驶舱门，尽管遭到副驾驶的攻击和伤害，但他仍然打开了驾驶舱门，使乘客和机组人员重新控制了飞机，并在沙特阿拉伯紧急迫降，从而避免了一场潜在的灾难。

阿联酋当局将这起事件描述为“恐怖主义行为”，目前正在调查中。初步报告显示，袭击者是一名阿曼公民，他表现出自杀倾向。

印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪和以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡等领导人赞扬了马赫查尔拯救众多生命的行动。

对此，迪拜航空已暂时停飞阿联酋与以色列之间的航班，目前正在努力安排受影响的乘客回国。

迪拜，10 月 3 日——一名印度飞行员在从阿联酋飞往以色列的航班上遭到副驾驶的袭击，昨天他在帮助阻止飞机坠毁后首次公开表示，“我不能让那么多人死去”。

周三，他不顾伤势，设法打开了驾驶舱门，帮助避免了一场灾难，使乘客和机组人员得以控制飞机，并在沙特阿拉伯紧急迫降。

阿联酋总统顾问安瓦尔·加尔加什昨天表示，在副驾驶被遣返回国后，迪拜航空一架从迪拜飞往特拉维夫的航班上发生的事件是一起“恐怖主义行为”。

机上大部分乘客都是以色列人，他们已被安排乘坐另一架飞机返回以色列。

Flydubai 机长 Smit Machchhar 在病床上与印度总理 Narendra Modi 通话时表示，他知道自己必须迅速采取行动，并称打开驾驶舱门是寻求帮助的“最后一搏”。

“我当时伤势太重，已经昏倒了。那时，我感觉飞机正在坠落。我知道这是最后的冲刺，舱门就在那里，”他说。

“当时我正被人殴打，但我还是打开了门，大家都进来了。”

拥有 17 年航空经验（其中 11 年担任机长）的马赫查尔描述了他受伤躺下时意识到飞机正在坠落的那一刻。

他告诉莫迪，在遭受磨难期间，他念诵了一首献给神灵哈努曼的印度教虔诚祈祷文。

“我知道是上帝救了我，”他说。

飞行员表示，多年的飞行经验使他即使在受伤的情况下也能理解正在发生的事情。

阿联酋民航总局昨天对马赫查尔、机组人员和乘客在袭击事件中做出的反应表示赞扬。

阿联酋官方通讯社WAM发表声明称：“他们果断迅速的干预以及背后的责任感，帮助控制了局势，防止了更严重的后果，这体现了在面对突发紧急情况时所展现出的准备充分、合作精神和共同责任感。”

冲突的具体情况正在调查中，但据称副驾驶袭击了马赫查尔，导致他受伤，并引发了争夺飞机控制权的冲突。

据 Flightradar24 网站报道，乘客们描述了飞机急速坠落后冲进驾驶舱并争夺控制权的情景——飞机在一分钟内下降了约 17,000 英尺的高度。

莫迪表示，马赫查尔的行动帮助挽救了许多生命，避免了一场“巨大的悲剧”。

以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡此前也曾赞扬马赫哈尔和乘客们避免了一场灾难。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周四警告说，如果发现伊朗与此次袭击有关，该国将受到“非常沉重的打击”。

内塔尼亚胡表示，嫌疑人曾接受过“伊斯兰极端主义灌输”。

内塔尼亚胡告诉美国媒体：“袭击者向机组人员喊道：‘杀了我，杀了我’”，并补充说“很明显，他是有自杀倾向的”。

以色列领导人确认副驾驶是阿曼公民，并表示以色列将调查他是如何获得在该国执飞航班的许可的。

内塔尼亚胡告诉福克斯新闻：“我们有相关限制，规定不能雇用来自与以色列没有外交关系的国家的飞行员。显然，他（指内塔尼亚胡）能够克服这些限制。”

自袭击事件发生以来，迪拜航空已暂停往返以色列的航班，导致一些以色列人滞留在阿联酋。

据迪拜国际机场消息，在迪拜航空袭击事件发生后，首架从阿联酋起飞的以色列航班于昨日从迪拜飞往特拉维夫，该航班由以色列航空公司Arkia执飞，以色列媒体称之为遣返航班。

此前，以色列国家航空公司以色列航空表示，他们正在计划安排替代航班接以色列国民回国，但由于阿联酋当局没有批准降落，被迫于昨日取消了这些航班。

以色列航空公司在一份在线声明中表示：“一旦获得当局批准，我们将立即安排专机飞往迪拜，尽快将以色列公民接回国。”——法新社

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