Chilling details: flydubai co-pilot used prayer as ruse for attack, captain opened cockpit door twice

Indian Captain Smit Machcchar has revealed chilling details of what happened inside the cockpit during the attack while speaking to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Machcchar recounted that the Omani co-pilot used prayer as a tactic to attack him from behind with an axe. He also revealed that he opened the cockpit's door twice.

In Short

• Omani co-pilot used prayer as a ruse to go behind Captain Smit, attack him
• Smit explains to PM Netanyahu how a knob allows cockpit door to be opened
• Netanyahu invites Machchhar, PM Modi to Israel's Independence Day event

Indian Captain Smit Machchhar's latest account of the flydubai cockpit attack adds a chilling detail to what happened aboard Dubai-Tel Aviv Flight FZ1073 on September 30. The Omani co-pilot stood up, saying he wanted to pray, and within minutes, Machchhar was being struck from behind with an axe. Machhar, an Indian, said he was unable to see and opened the cockpit door once earlier, but it was shut by the attacker.

Machchhar initially believed his co-pilot, identified as Hamam al-Hammami, had gone behind him as he was praying. But the Omani co-pilot used the opportunity to lunge at the unsuspecting Indian captain with an axe kept for emergency use.

Machchhar's accounts also revealed that he opened the cockpit door twice, falling to the floor after the co-pilot shut it the first time, before making one final push — with a severely blurred vision — that allowed passengers to enter the cockpit and overpower the attacker and prevent the plane from being crashed. There were 174 people, mostly Israelis, on that plane.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now invited Machchhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel for the country's Independence Day, calling the Indian pilot a "hero of Israel, India and the world".

DETAILS EMERGE AS NETANYAHU SPEAKS TO CAPTAIN SMIT MACHCHHAR

The new details emerged when Israeli PM Netanyahu spoke to Smit Machchhar on Saturday (October 3) via video conference. Machchhar had been shifted from Saudi Arabia to the UAE and is recovering from the injuries he sustained during the attack in the cockpit.

Earlier, when Machchhar spoke to PM Modi on October 2, he spoke about his determination to get back up and save the passengers. But the Indian Captain's conversation with Netanyahu focused more on the tense moments immediately before the attack began.

The Indian Captain said the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft had been proceeding normally when the Omani co-pilot stood up to pray. Machchhar said this was not something he considered unusual and, out of respect, deliberately chose not to look behind him. Then, after roughly four to five minutes, he felt a powerful blow to the back of his head.

SMIT MACHCHHAR DIDN'T REALISE HE HAD BEEN HIT

For Machchhar, the first blow was so unexpected that he did not immediately understand what was happening. He initially thought the aircraft itself had suffered some kind of catastrophic impact. It was only when another blow followed that he realised the source was the person sitting behind him.

That sequence is significant because it places the ruse of prayer immediately before the assault.

Smit Machchhar did not say he knew at the time that the co-pilot was using prayer as a pretext for an attack. But from the sequence he has now described, the act gave the attacker a moment when the captain was intentionally looking forward and not monitoring him.

Machchhar then revealed details about the fight between him and the Omani co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami.

"The co-pilot's initial blows had completely blurred my vision," Machchhar told Netanyahu, adding that he could feel the aircraft going sharply down. Injured and disoriented, Machchhar managed to reach the cockpit door and open it.

SMIT MACHCHHAR OPENED COCKPIT DOOR TWICE

"I opened the cockpit door once, but he [co-pilot] closed it, and I fell to the floor," Machchhar said.

Remember Machchhar was showing this courageous act while he was injured. He had to open it while under attack and then try again after the attacker closed it.

"I realised I had one more chance," Machchhar said, adding, "I thought I'm going to die and that's when I pushed against everything. I gave everything that I had and just went for the door and opened."

The second chance became the moment that ended up saving the lives of 174 people onboard the flydubai flight.

Machchhar opened the door again and saw people waiting outside. "When I opened it again, I saw people waiting to rush inside," he said. Those people entered, overpowered the attacker and helped bring the cockpit back under control.

INDIAN CAPTAIN EXPLAINS HOW HE OPENED COCKPIT DOOR

The Indian Captain also clarified a detail about the door itself.

When Netanyahu referred to "pulling the pin", Machchhar explained that there was no pin. From inside the cockpit, the door could be opened by twisting a knob, while those outside needed a code to gain entry.

His colleagues outside were apparently trying to enter the code, but the attacker was preventing the door from being opened. For Machchhar, the critical challenge was reaching the knob.

Once his hand reached it, the action itself was simple. He has to just make a short and quick twist.

THE 30/11 TERROR ATTACK ATTEMPT BY THE OMANI CO-PILOT OF FLYDUBAI

On September 30, aboard flydubai Flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 passengers on board, most of them Israelis, the Omani co-pilot attacked Machchhar in the cockpit, triggering a rapid descent and a hijacking emergency. The aircraft eventually diverted to Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely after passengers and other pilots helped regain control.

The sequence has since become the subject of investigations by authorities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Netanyahu has called the Omani co-pilot as having undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination", while the UAE has been investigating the circumstances, motive and whether the incident was connected to terrorism or involved prior planning.

Machchhar's latest accounts, revealed while speaking to Netanyahu on Saturday, provided details of what the first moments looked and felt like from inside the cockpit.

Earlier, while speaking to PM Modi from his hospital bed, Machchhar had described the decision that followed in much more personal terms. He said he was lying injured on the cockpit floor when he realised that if he did not get up, the passengers could die.

"I was fighting for my own life but at the same time I knew I was not going to let others die," he told PM Modi on October 2.

Machchhar also said he had been flying for 17 years and could tell what was happening to an aircraft even with his eyes closed. During the crisis, he drew strength from his faith and said he recited the Hanuman Chalisa, telling PM Modi that Lord Hanuman gave him courage.

The Omani pilot used the ruse of prayer to catch Smit Machchhar off guard. But Machchhar bravely fought and opened the cockpit door, twice, to give everyone else a chance to fight back. The first opening failed. The second changed the course of Flight FZ1073.

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