Capt Smit Machchhar was at the controls of a flydubai flight that was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing on Sept 30
“Everyone did the best in their capacity,” he said, including crew and passengers. Machchhar credited his colleague for taking the controls and recovering the aircraft, calling it something he will carry “till I die. Asked about the speculation over how the plane was saved, he declined to single anyone out.
He thought part of his Boeing 737’s cockpit roof had broken loose. He lost consciousness for the first time soon after. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Mumbai | Silver Rate in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai | Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Petrol Price in Mumbai | Diesel Price in Mumbai | CNG Price in Mumbai | LPG Price in Mumbai Stay updated with the latest Mumbai news.
“There was a moment I told myself, Smit, do something, you can’t die like this,” said the flydubai pilot, recounting the Sept 30 terror attack on flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which was diverted and landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia . The pilot said his memory of what followed is fragmented, a gap he is still working through with doctors and psychologists. “Normal flight,” Machchhar told the channel. A few minutes into their conversation, he said he wished to pray and asked the relief captain to step out. Machchhar said such requests are accepted in the region when the flight is stable. Suddenly there was a very hard hit at the back of my head,” he said. Within seconds his vision had narrowed to a few inches, he said. “That’s when something flipped,” he said. It was after this, he said, that he heard the engines spool down and felt the aircraft pitch into a dive. Drifting in and out of consciousness from blood loss, he said, he reached a point of decision. “I told myself, Smit, do something. He said he remembers locking his legs against something and pushing towards the door. He said he remembers then lying face down between the cockpit and the galley, the door open, passengers panicking. He said he knew he was out of danger only when the aircraft touched down. You just remember the person who matters the most,” he said.
Mumbai: Two hours into the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, flydubai commander Capt Smit Machchhar was checking landing time and fuel figures on the computer when something struck hard at the back of his head. Seconds later, as more blows rained in, he turned and saw it was his co-pilot. Bleeding, his vision shrunk to a few inches, he drifted in and out of consciousness during those fateful minutes when the aircraft went into a rapid descent, while the attack continued. It was a route he had flown many times. An augmented crew was on board, and the relief captain was to take over operating duties after landing. “It went on like a normal day till it wasn’t. About two hours in, the relief captain had dropped by the cockpit to chat about rosters and flying hours when the co-pilot, who had stepped out for a toilet break, returned. The co-pilot asked the other captain to step out, stood up behind him and began praying. “Out of respect, I did not look back. I was checking the landing time and fuel figures on the computer, the routine background tasks of the monitoring pilot. “It was something very strong and hard. I didn’t know at that point what had hit me. Machchhar fell forward, and his mind reached for training. “My first thought was, OK, something has broken from the aircraft roof, and it has been a catastrophic damage. I was planning to regain my composure and check my systems. The blows kept coming. When he glanced back, he understood. “He was saying something while hitting me, but I could not understand. Machchhar unbuckled and tried to shield himself, taking a blow on his hand. He screamed for the relief captain and, since the door switch was within reach, managed to open it. “I don’t have to see the instruments, I can have my eyes closed and still know the engines are spooling down and the aircraft is going down. Every pilot will tell you this. You can’t die like this. I’m not saying I accepted my death. It was like, do something, otherwise… The pilot added his memory of what followed is fragmentary, a gap he is still working through with doctors and psychologists. Until then a doctor on board and his crew kept him conscious. “At that point, what I was more focused on was to not give up on life. You say you see flashes and stuff like that (speaking about death). The first call he made was to his two-year-old son. In the days that followed the incident, he continued to get flashes of the first blow. Machchhar added that he has been getting better with each passing day and can now sit and have conversations. Download the TOI App.
He recalled hearing shouting between the co-pilot and the other crew before the door shut again, with the co-pilot threatening to hit them too. In his first extended account since the incident, given to Sky News Arabia on Saturday evening, Machchhar said an ordinary flight, with a co-pilot he was flying with for the first time, turned violent minutes after the man stood up to pray.