Flydubai captain blocked axe blows during cockpit attack

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 19 Oct, 02:07 · Archive

A flydubai captain described blocking axe blows to his head when attacked by a co-pilot who allegedly intended to crash the plane.

The captain of flydubai flight FZ1073, Capt Smit Machchhar, has described defending himself against his co-pilot who attacked him with a crash axe whilst the plane was in Saudi airspace. Speaking from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, with head and arm injuries, Machchhar said his initial reaction was confusion, thinking something had "gone horribly wrong with the aircraft structure" before realising he was being attacked and things had "taken a drastic turn".

When the first blow landed, Machchhar immediately worked to free himself from his seatbelt and block the incoming blows. He said his hand went to the cockpit door knob as he screamed for his colleagues to help, before losing consciousness. The Japan Times reports that the scariest moment for Machchhar was when the aircraft nose began "steeply going down".

The UAE attorney general has characterised the incident as an attempted suicide attack, with the co-pilot allegedly intending to crash the plane into Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. Machchhar has been described as heroic for his role in preventing the disaster on the flight last month.

How it is being reported

• Captain of Flydubai plane describes blocking axe blows as co-pilot attackedThe captain of the Flydubai flight said the scariest thing he felt after his co-pilot began attacking him was the aircraft nose "steeply going down."The Japan Times · 19 Oct, 01:51
• Flydubai captain describes blocking axe blows as co-pilot attacked himCapt Smit Machchhar said he screamed for help as he reached to open the cockpit door on flight FZ1073 The captain of a flydubai flight who was attacked by a co-pilot who intended to crash the plane has described blocking axe blows to his head and screaming for help as he reached to open the cockpit door. Capt Smit Machchhar has been hailed as a hero for his role in averting disaster on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv last month, helping to thwart what the UAE attorney general has said was an attempted suicide attack by the co-pilot who had i ntended to crash the plane into Ben Gurion…Guardian World · 18 Oct, 18:27

In this story: Capt Smit Machchhar · flydubai · Dubai · Tel Aviv · Saudi Arabia · Ben Gurion · Abu Dhabi · UAE

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