Flydubai captain opens cockpit door as plane drops 17,000ft

Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar opened the cockpit door of Flight FZ1073 while being stabbed by his co-pilot on Wednesday, letting passengers and crew subdue the attacker as the plane fell about 17,000ft. The Boeing 737, carrying 174 people, had departed Dubai for Tel Aviv at 7:05am and was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.abcnews.com

Machchhar's act mattered because cockpit doors stay locked in flight and only pilots can open them. By forcing the release while wounded on the floor, he broke the barrier that had kept the attacker alone with the controls. Passengers and crew then entered, overpowered the co-pilot and helped regain control, preventing a crash.

What the captain told Modi

Speaking from his hospital bed in a video call to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Machchhar described lying injured on the cockpit floor as the aircraft plunged. "When I was lying on the floor, I could feel that the aircraft was plunging and I said to myself while I was getting beaten, 'This is the last push, Smit, do it, the door is right there,'" he said.cbsnews.com

Machchhar, an Indian national with 17 years of flying experience and 11 years as a captain, told Modi he had been repeating Hindu religious chants and trusting that God would save the plane. He apologised for tears, saying he had never been proud of himself before but was now. Modi told him his split-second decision saved many lives.

Flight data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft began a steep descent at 05:21 GMT on Wednesday, followed by a sharp climb and a second steep descent. In two minutes, the plane dropped more than 17,000ft. By 05:33 GMT, 12 minutes after the plunge began, it was flying at roughly 15,000ft and starting to level out.

How the plane fell

Passenger Adam Polo, travelling with his wife and two children, said the first fall felt like a normal air pocket before the acceleration became abnormal. He reported that electricity, the multimedia system and air conditioning stopped, and anyone standing fell. Passengers described chaos, screaming and multiple waves of turbulence in the cabin.

The co-pilot, an Omani citizen born in Oman, has not been publicly named by authorities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday the man had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination" based on personal information from initial questioning, and that he apparently tried to crash the plane. Netanyahu said it was too early to say whether Iran was involved.

Who the co-pilot is

US President Donald Trump went further on Thursday, saying the co-pilot was linked to Iran based on what he was hearing, while adding that officials were still working on it. An Omani official confirmed the attacker's Omani birth and citizenship to CBS News, but the Omani government has not publicly confirmed his nationality.

What happens next

The co-pilot was transferred on Thursday from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates for questioning by Israeli, UAE and Saudi officials, an Israeli official confirmed on Friday. Saudi officials said on Wednesday that he was hospitalised and treated for unspecified injuries after being subdued by passengers and crew. UAE presidential diplomatic advisor Anwar Gargash said on Friday the attempted hijacking was a "dangerous terrorist act", praising Machchhar's courage and warning against promoting conspiracy theories about the attack. Netanyahu called Machchhar a "true hero" who saved the 174 people on board, and Modi said all of India was proud of him.

Machchhar was airlifted to Abu Dhabi after initial treatment in Tabuk, where the plane made an emergency landing. The Indian embassy in the UAE reported on Thursday that he was in good health and recovering well. One hundred and seventy-four Israeli passengers were returned to Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday evening after the incident.