The Indian airline captain who was stabbed while foiling an alleged attempt by his co-pilot to crash a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv has recalled the moment he managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker.
In a video call to the Indian prime minister while recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital, Capt. Smit Machchhar said he knew he had to get back up to save the passengers aboard the aircraft.
"When I was on the ground, I realised that the aircraft is going down. And I told myself, 'This is the last push, Smit. The door is right there.' I was still getting hit, but I opened the door,” Mr Machchhar said.
As the Boeing 737 crossed into Jordanian airspace on Wednesday (30 September), Mr Machchhar’s co-pilot launched an attack inside the cockpit and attempted to sabotage the flight controls to crash the airliner, officials said.
The flight, carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing.
