Flydubai Pilot Recounts Assault Moments: Cockpit Door Opened, Passengers Entered

Simit Machar, the captain of the Flydubai flight who was assaulted by his co-pilot during a trip between Dubai and Tel Aviv, informed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday that he acted out of a desire to protect the passengers on the plane, which made an emergency landing in the Saudi city of Tabuk.

The Indian Prime Minister shared a video clip on social media platforms of a video call with Machar, who appeared lying in a hospital bed, his head wrapped in bandages and his nose connected to an oxygen tube.

Machar said, “I was trying to save my life, but I knew I couldn’t let all those (passengers) die.”

Machar, who has 17 years of experience in aviation, 11 of them as a pilot in command, described the moment he realized the plane was nosediving while he was injured on the floor, and his efforts to avert disaster.

He said, “I had sustained several injuries that left me collapsed. At that point, I felt the plane was nosediving. I knew this was the last chance, and the (cockpit) door was close to me.”

He noted that even at that moment, “I was still being beaten, but I opened the door, and everyone entered.”

Machar pointed out that his experience enabled him to understand what was happening even while injured, adding, “I know God saved me.”

The Flydubai Boeing 737 was carrying 174 passengers on a flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

The circumstances and motives behind the assault remain under investigation. According to passengers’ accounts, the co-pilot stabbed the captain with the aim of bringing down the plane, but the captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and subdue the attacker.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed that the plane descended by 17,000 feet in just one minute before landing safely in Tabuk.