Flydubai captain recounts struggle to reopen cockpit door
Captain Smit Machchhar has described how a confrontation with his co-pilot unfolded aboard a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight. He said the co-pilot stood to pray before striking him, and that he opened the cockpit door during a second opportunity, allowing people outside to enter.
Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar has described the moments inside the cockpit during an alleged attack by his co-pilot on a flight bound for Tel Aviv. Speaking during a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Machchhar said the co-pilot stood up to pray. Out of respect, he said, he initially did not look back.
Machchhar said he then felt a strong impact and first thought the aircraft had been affected. After being struck again, he realised that the co-pilot was attacking him. The captain said he opened the cockpit door after the first incident, but the co-pilot closed it.
Machchhar said he fell to the floor as a result. He then recognised that he had another opportunity to open the door. When he opened it again, he said, he saw people waiting outside and preparing to rush into the cockpit.
The account provides a sequence of events from Machchhar’s perspective, beginning with the co-pilot standing to pray and continuing through the captain’s attempts to open the cockpit door. Netanyahu praised Machchhar’s conduct and invited him to light a torch at Israel’s Independence Day ceremony. He called the captain a hero for Israel, India and the world.
The source material does not provide Machchhar’s account of what happened after people entered the cockpit. It also does not give further details about the co-pilot or the investigation beyond the account of the incident.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.