Knife attack on a Flydubai plane. The pilot and a 6-year-old girl saved the plane

A very serious incident occurred on Wednesday. The Flydubai plane, with over 170 people on board, was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv. At some point, the machine sent a signal that it had a breakdown, then that it had been hijacked. The plane was falling rapidly - in less than half a minute it dropped by 5,000 feet. meters. Ultimately, control of the controls was regained and the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

It turned out that one of the pilots - an Omani citizen - attacked the plane's captain. He attacked him with a knife while they were both locked in the cockpit. Captain Smit Machchhar was seriously injured during this attack. However, thanks to his reaction, a disaster was avoided. The pilot opened the cockpit door and the passengers realized that there was a fight inside. Machchhar, from India, was seriously injured and taken to hospital.

"I was lying on the floor injured"

Fortunately, his condition is improving and he is well enough to have a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Machchhar told him that he opened the cockpit door to allow passengers to enter.

He said he was on the ground and still being attacked by the co-pilot when he realized the plane was starting to fall rapidly.

“I was lying on the floor injured, but I told myself I had to try to open the door from the inside,” he said.

Then the passengers came in and played their part. Of course, I was fighting for my own life, but at the same time I knew that I would not let others die, he added.

I don't think about my wounds because it would make my recovery difficult, Machchhar said. It will take some time, but I am sure I will recover and be fit and healthy again, he added.

Modi told the captain that "his courage, patience and quick decision-making saved the lives of so many people" and that the entire country was proud of him.

6-year-old Nina - an accidental heroine

Western media describe another accidental heroine of this flight. This is 6-year-old Nina Manes. The girl was flying with her parents.

Nina asked her mother to go to the toilet with her at the exact moment the co-pilot attacked the captain. Her mother heard suspicious noises coming from the cockpit. She was the one who alerted the other passengers.

I screamed, "He's stabbing the pilot, he's stabbing the pilot, help!" At first, people looked at me and didn't understand, the woman reports in an interview with Israel's Channel 12.

Nina's father rushed to help. I still remember my daughter's scream as the plane began to plummet: "Dad, I don't want to die." I immediately ran into the cabin, says the man.

Ultimately, the passengers managed to overpower the aggressive pilot. The man is currently in custody in Abu Dhabi. It is not yet known what the motives for the attack were.