A month after a co-pilot attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar with an axe aboard a flydubai flight, two additional pilots who helped land the damaged aircraft safely have been honoured.
The Boeing 737 was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit.
Machchhar was badly injured and lost a lot of blood. They were supposed to fly the aircraft on its return journey. However, after the attack, the two pilots took control of the damaged aircraft and managed to land it safely at an airport in Saudi Arabia. Both pilots received the First Class Order of Zayed II. Captain Machchhar, who was seriously injured in the attack, also received the award. Rowan Tooth is a pilot from South Africa. Henson Steven is a pilot from Fiji. He used an emergency axe kept inside the cockpit and hit the captain several times on the head. The plane’s rudder was also damaged during the incident. Steven and Tooth then entered the cockpit and took control of the aircraft. The aircraft landed safely at the airport. A replacement plane was later arranged to take the passengers to Tel Aviv. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan conferred the honour on the Flydubai crew members.
Tooth and Henson Steven from Fiji were travelling as additional crew members on flydubai Flight FZ1073 on September 30. Their names were made public on October 27, when the UAE honoured them for their role in saving the passengers. He later joined flydubai in 2023. The Boeing 737 was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, an Omani national, attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit. The aircraft dropped around 16,000 feet in just 30 seconds, according to The Times of Israel. Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presented the medals at the ceremony on October 27.
Tooth is from Kimberley in the Northern Cape, according to South African media reports.
One of them, Rowan Tooth, is the son of former South African cricketer Barry Tooth, who died last year. He earlier worked with Airlink, a South African airline. He previously worked with Fiji Airways before joining Flydubai.
