Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Indian captain Smit Machchhar of a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv fought off his co-pilot after the latter allegedly tried to crash the aircraft, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday. The plane made an emergency landing in Tabuk in Saudi Arabia after what flydubai described as an in-flight “altercation”.
Netanyahu called Machchhar a “true hero” and said he saved the lives of 174 people on board, including Israeli citizens and other nationals. The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said Machchhar was in hospital in Tabuk and was reported to be in stable condition.
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According to Netanyahu, Machchhar was stabbed and seriously injured but still fought back and opened the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker. “He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals. I wish Captain Machchhar a speedy and full recovery. He is a true hero,” Netanyahu said. He added: “My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery.”
In an earlier statement, Netanyahu had said one of the pilots stabbed the other and apparently tried to crash the aircraft with passengers on board. He said an Israeli passenger told him the plane went into a spin and began descending, after which the passenger and a crew member broke into the cockpit and overpowered the pilot who had carried out the stabbing while he was allegedly trying to sabotage the aircraft’s systems. According to Netanyahu, another crew member then entered the cockpit and helped stabilise the plane.
Netanyahu said the aircraft landed safely at Tabuk airport and all passengers were out of danger. He added that the pilot who carried out the stabbing, believed to be an Omani national, had been arrested and was being questioned by Saudi authorities. Israeli authorities, fearing a possible hijacking, also scrambled Air Force fighter jets, and the incident remains under investigation.
The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said in a post on X that it, along with the Indian Consulate in Jeddah, had been following Machchhar’s condition. “He is admitted in a hospital in Tabuk city in northwest Saudi Arabia and receiving necessary medical attention. A full update on his health is awaited but he is reported to be in stable condition,” it said. “We hope that he recovers from his injuries at the earliest. We are in touch with his family and assure them that we will continue to follow up on his health with Saudi authorities and extend all possible assistance for his wellbeing,” the embassy added.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said Israelis were praying for Machchhar. “In a moment of terror, he showed extraordinary courage. Today, our hearts are with him and his family,” he said in a post on X.
Videos circulated on social media showed a pilot drenched in blood, wearing an oxygen mask and lying on his back in the galley of the aircraft. Other clips carried by Israeli media showed passengers moving towards the front of the plane while others shouted and asked what was happening.
The flydubai flight, FZ1073, was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv and transmitted emergency signals before making a sharp descent and diverting to Prince Sultan Bin Abdel Aziz Airport in Tabuk on Wednesday. The flight was carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children. Tabuk airport authorities said both the captain and the first officer were injured and were taken to hospital, while passengers were given the necessary assistance at the terminal.
flydubai said the aircraft had experienced an in-flight “altercation” and landed safely in Tabuk. “The aircraft was successfully secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk Airport (TUU). All passengers and crew are safe and accounted for,” the airline said. It added that it was cooperating with the relevant authorities and said: “At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation. We urge all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts.”
Hours later, the passengers returned to Tel Aviv on a flydubai rescue flight. Several defence officials had insisted on sending an Israeli rescue aircraft to bring the passengers home, but Saudi authorities denied permission for it, The Jerusalem Post reported.
At Ben Gurion International Airport, Netanyahu met a passenger who had entered the cockpit and helped overpower the attacker. The passengers told him that Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door before collapsing after being stabbed, and that they then entered and took control of the alleged hijacker before he could crash the plane.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described the incident as “a jihadist terrorist attack attempt, which was thwarted only thanks to the bravery of several Israeli passengers who broke into the cockpit and overpowered the terrorist”. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for action against “whoever tried to crash a plane and murder 180 Israelis”.
BBC Verify reported that the seat layout and design seen in the videos were consistent with a flydubai Boeing 737 MAX. It also said flight-tracking data showed the plane cruising at about 34,000 feet before descending more than 17,000 feet in less than two minutes. The aircraft then transmitted emergency signals, including a code indicating possible unlawful interference.
In one video circulated on Israeli social media, a man with blood on his face said: “We’re here – the plane – we’ve just taken control of the terrorists. We’re about to land. Anyone who hears me: we need help. We’re landing in Tabuk.” Passenger Zvika Manes, who said he helped subdue the alleged attacker, told Calcalist that his wife heard shouting and screams near the cockpit before he and others stepped in. “I’m covered in blood. It was insane,” he said, according to Ynet.
Another passenger, Dalia Shpigel, told Haaretz that there were “terrible screams throughout the plane” before “three to five guys burst into the cockpit” and subdued the attacker. Daniel, another Israeli passenger, said two off-duty pilots on board took control of the flight after the attacker was overpowered. “The spinning stopped. It took some – I don’t know, it felt like an eternity, but I think it was two minutes, at least two or three minutes, during which the plane was simply diving and spinning like crazy,” he was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel. “It felt like, that’s it. It’s over. September 11 is happening again.”
Noa Shpigel, a journalist with Haaretz, told the BBC that her 74-year-old mother was on the flight from Kathmandu via Dubai to Israel. After speaking to her mother, she said passengers realised something was wrong when the aircraft began “to jump in the air” and then “dive down”. She said they quickly understood that something was very wrong in the cockpit, and that several young Israeli men sitting at the front then entered the cockpit and took control.
Israeli Opposition leader Yair Lapid said a warning about increased terrorist activity abroad, which he had been briefed on before the incident, had nothing to do with what happened on the flight. “The warning about activity abroad is specific, has been in place for more than two years, and has nothing to do with planes or anything resembling what happened this morning,” he said on X. He added that nothing like the plane incident had come up in a security briefing with Netanyahu on Tuesday: “Nothing that even resembles this morning’s plane incident appeared in last night’s security update with the Prime Minister. Not similar, not reminiscent, not even hinted at.”
The incident aboard flight FZ1073 is now under investigation. While Israeli leaders praised Captain Machchhar and the passengers who stepped in, flydubai said the reasons behind the in-flight altercation were still unknown, and the Indian authorities said Machchhar remained in hospital in stable condition in Tabuk.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
