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The son of a passenger aboard the Dubai-Tel Aviv flydubai flight has thanked Indian pilot – Captain Smit Machchhar – for fighting off his co-pilot, who attempted to hijack and crash the aircraft, saying he is “one of India’s best people”.
Speigel said he believes India is a wonderful country and has wonderful people. “…I guess that the pilot is one of your best people,” he said.
Smit Machchhar , an Indian citizen, had been working with flydubai – a low-cost carrier owned by the Emirati government, for four years. However, Machchhar fought back the co-pilot, resisted him, and opened the cockpit door so passengers and crew members could overpower him. On Wednesday, his co-pilot tried to sabotage the aircraft, which was carrying over 170 passengers, and later stabbed Machchhar, who was trying to prevent him from doing so. At the time, the Boeing 737, cruising at about 34,000 feet, began dropping at roughly 23,000 feet per minute before reaching about 15,600 feet.
Passengers near the front helped move the attacker away from the cockpit, according to accounts from those on board.
“When she stood near the toilet, she heard strange noises from the cockpit. The woman told passengers to take a look…The airplane fell for nearly 20 to 30 seconds, and my mother said that it was scary,” he said.
Speigel, recounting his mother’s account, said that a woman who was seated next to her had to take her daughter to the toilet.
