How Flydubai passengers physically stopped 'Israel's 9/11' after pilot's cockpit stabbing
Cruising thousands of feet in the air on what should have been a routine flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, passengers aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 were suddenly gripped by the sheer terror that they were about to die in what witnesses described as "Israel's 9/11".
The Boeing 737, carrying 174 passengers, abruptly plunged thousands of feet in less than a minute, pitching and rolling violently as screams echoed from the front of the aircraft.
Inside the cabin, travelers braced for the worst.
"Suddenly I heard a struggle. Something like a fight coming from the cockpit," said Daniel, an Israeli passenger seated near the front.
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"It felt like an eternity, but I think it was two or three minutes, during which the plane was simply diving and spinning like crazy. It felt like, that's it. It's over. September 11 is happening again."
Behind the flight deck door, an unspeakable nightmare was unfolding. The co-pilot had produced a blade and repeatedly stabbed the pilot-in-command, Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar.
Investigators believe the attacker was actively attempting to sabotage the aircraft's control systems and plunge the passenger jet into the ground in a catastrophic suicide crash.
Despite sustaining severe, bleeding stab wounds to his head and hands, Captain Machchhar mounted a desperate counterattack.
Just last year, the seasoned captain had spoken publicly about the vital importance of having a reliable team around you while flying.
Pushed to the brink, Machchhar used his final strength to hit the door release—a split-second action that saved every life on board.
Seeing the cockpit door open, passenger Yaniv Hayun rushed into the fray without hesitation.
"When I entered, I saw the attacker on the instruments, between the two seats... there were no pilots in the seats. One was down, one was on the instruments," Hayun recalled, as per the BBC.
"The pilot was trying to destroy the instruments in order to disable the plane. I grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and pulled him—first and foremost—outside."
Assisted by fellow passengers and cabin crew, Hayun wrestled the knife-wielding attacker into the galley, where they physically pinned and bound him.
With the assailant subdued, an off-duty commercial pilot travelling as a passenger quickly took the flight controls, pulling the Boeing 737 out of its steep dive and leveling the wings, reports The Mirror.
At the same time, an onboard doctor rushed forward to administer critical trauma first aid to stem Captain Machchhar's heavy blood loss before the aircraft made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the extraordinary bravery displayed in the cockpit, describing Captain Machchhar as a "true hero" whose courage averted mass slaughter.
"My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery," Netanyahu said, according to India Today. "Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker—preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster. He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals."
Topics: Israel, World News, Terrorism
Phoebe Tonks