A pilot's account of survival and duty
Capt Smit Machchhar, the Indian aviator credited with stopping what appeared to be a plot to bring down a flydubai jet, recounted struggling to survive in the moments after his co-pilot wounded him with a knife and the aircraft pitched into a rapid dive. From his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi on Friday, his head wrapped in bandages and nasal tubes in place, he told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a televised video call that he understood he had to rise again to rescue those on board. He wept while describing the assault.[S1]
Machchhar, a Mumbai native, suffered grave injuries in Wednesday's assault yet still managed to get the cockpit door open, letting passengers come in and subdue the assailant while the Boeing 737 plunged steeply, according to witnesses and Israeli officials. His conduct has earned him praise as a hero, with global leaders crediting him with averting a possible catastrophe. The aircraft, which had 182 people aboard on a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv route, was redirected to Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia to land in an emergency.[S1]
Attacker arrested as motive remains unclear
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the assailant, a national of Oman, had been taken into custody in Saudi Arabia, where questioning was under way. What drove the attack is still not known. Machchhar recounted that amid those harrowing moments he chanted the Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional verse honouring the Hindu god Hanuman and customarily said as a plea for strength and bravery. He told Modi that Lord Hanuman had granted him courage.[S1]
Machchhar, a married father of two, had been with flydubai for roughly four years, his LinkedIn profile indicates. Prior to that, he worked for 11 years at SpiceJet, an Indian budget airline, holding roles as a senior commander and line training captain. During his time at SpiceJet he accumulated over 9,750 hours of flight time.[S1]
