Capt Smit Machchhar , the Indian pilot who was attacked by his co-pilot in an alleged attempt to crash a flydubai aircraft , described the incident in detail to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday.
Airlines are generally required to keep crash axes in cockpits, which can be used in emergencies to break a window for escape or open a panel to reach a fire. Netanyahu spoke to Machchhar, who is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in the UAE. He also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian pilot to light a flame on Israeli Independence Day. Out of respect, he looked towards the front of the cockpit. “A lot of locals, they do pray, which is not out of the ordinary. That’s when I realised that it’s not the aircraft, it’s the other guy who was in the cockpit with me. However, investigators have not disclosed what may have motivated the attack.
Recalling the attack inside the cockpit, Machchhar said he felt a “big blow to the back of the head” and that “the blows kept coming”. Notably, UAE investigators have said that the co-pilot planned the “terrorist act” and attacked Machchhar with an axe. Asked how the attack began, Machchhar said the co-pilot had requested time to pray. out of respect, I was just looking at the front and not at the back,” he said While he was praying. He said that as the “blows kept coming”, he realised that the aircraft was not the source of the problem and the co-pilot was responsible, “But then after that the blows kept coming one after the other. UAE investigators have said that the co-pilot of the flydubai flight bound for Israel this week was planning a “terrorist act”. He used the emergency axe kept in the cockpit to attack the captain, they said.
