New details told by a Flydubai pilot about his co-pilot’s attack inside the cockpit

(CNN) - Captain Smit Machhar, the pilot of the Flydubai flight who is considered a “hero” after he confronted a violent attack by his co-pilot, revealed new details of what happened inside the cockpit, in a call with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Machhar said: "It was a normal flight and the co-pilot asked to pray, which is a normal thing locally. When he was praying, I was looking forward out of respect and not back, and then suddenly after 4 or 5 minutes, there was a strong blow to my head from behind. The first thought that came to me was that catastrophic damage had occurred to the plane and something had happened, but after that the strikes continued one after the other. Then I realized that the matter was not related to the plane but to the other person in the cockpit with me."

He continued: "I tried to stop him, but because of his initial strikes, my vision was almost non-existent and I was completely disoriented. The second thing that came to me was that the plane was descending sharply. My memory is now fragmented, but this is what I remember from that time. I tried to open the door once, but I think he closed it again, and at this moment I think I was lying on the floor of the cockpit, and I felt the sound of the plane and the screams of the passengers, and as I told the ambassador here..">

He added: "I had within me the ability to fight one last fight, personally or for the passengers. I knew that if I did not do that, I would die, and then I pushed forward with all my strength and went to the door and opened it. The passengers entered and took control, and the rest is as you know, sir..">

Netanyahu said: “Frankly, I am amazed by your courage and the calmness of your choices under impossible circumstances,” asking the pilot: “How did you do that? Did you pull the screw that allows the cockpit door to be opened?” The captain answered: “No, sir. The door has a tool from the inside that turns to open, and from the outside it cannot be opened except with a code. My colleagues outside were trying to enter the code, but the person did not allow them to enter it. The only way to open the door is to reach the handle and turn it to open on its own. Accordingly, there is no opening screw, but rather a mechanism that turns like a regular handle..”.