Published 2 minutes ago
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Captain Smit Machar, the Indian national who was attacked with a knife on board flydubai flight FZ1073, had reportedly opened the cockpit door before falling unconscious.
Israeli traveler Yaniv Hayun gave this information during a conversation with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday.
Hayun told Netanyahu that the cockpit door was open, but the mosquitoes were so close to the door that it was difficult to open it.
"My conclusion is that he used his intelligence to open the door for us and then became unconscious," he said.
Netanyahu later mentioned this incident in a statement on Twitter, praising Machar's bravery.
The Israeli Prime Minister wrote, "Despite being attacked with a knife and seriously injured, he responded, resisted the attacker, opened the cockpit door and enabled the crew members along with the passengers to overpower the attacker. This prevented a major tragedy in the air."
Netanyahu said Machar saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and citizens of other countries.
What did Smit do during the knife attack?
Smit Machar is also being praised a lot on social media. An Iranian woman has written on X, "My husband is a pilot. He told that pilots have a switch in the cockpit, through which the cockpit door can be unlocked from inside. Therefore, it is possible that Captain Smit Machar may have not only called for help, but also pressed the switch before becoming unconscious, so that the flight attendants and passengers could reach inside the cockpit.
Skip to Most Read Skip to content
most read
finished
“If the cockpit door had remained locked, perhaps no one would have been able to go inside and help save the plane. Salute to them. That one decision of his played an important role in saving the lives of all the people on board the plane.
According to the report of Israeli news website Jerusalem Post, many passengers gave first aid to the injured Machar.
Israeli dentist Shota Musayev was also included among them. Machar was admitted to a hospital in Saudi Arabia after the plane made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport.
Musayev told Israeli media that Machar was seriously injured and he was bleeding profusely from his head and hands. The dentist helped stop the bleeding. He told that after this Machar's condition became stable, but during the landing of the plane his condition deteriorated again.
Musayev also said that Machar was able to verbally convey that the other pilot had attacked him with a knife.
Machar is an experienced pilot and has also trained new pilots.
who is smit
According to Machar's LinkedIn profile, he worked for Indian airline SpiceJet for more than a decade before joining flydubai. There he was also a training captain and mentor to new pilots.
According to his profile, he has flown approximately 9,750 hours on Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 and 9 aircraft.
LinkedIn profile also shows that Machar also has children.
The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said Machar "has been admitted to a hospital in Tabuk city in north-western Saudi Arabia and is being given necessary treatment."
The embassy said that it has not yet received complete information regarding the health of the pilot, but it has been told that his condition is stable. Embassy officials also said that they are in touch with Machar's family.
Trump also praised Smit
skip ahead podcast
Dinbhar: Same voice, new style
Big news from the country and the world that made headlines.
episode
finished
US President Donald Trump called the flydubai pilot a hero. He said the pilot fought off the co-pilot's knife attack, opened the cockpit door and called for help, helping foil the alleged attempt to deliberately crash the plane.
While talking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said that he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Trump, Netanyahu told him that a plumber, who had never flown a plane, played a key role in taking over the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which later landed in Saudi Arabia.
Trump said, "The pilot was in very bad condition. I guess he's still in very bad condition. But he had the sense to do that, it was really amazing, in a way he was a hero."
Trump said the pilot opened the cockpit door and was able to yell for help.
The US President said, "It appears that the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a mentally abnormal person, and he attacked the pilot with a knife."
Trump then cited the "extraordinary" role of an Israeli passenger, whom he identified as a plumber.
According to Trump, a passenger, who had never flown a plane, entered the cockpit, pulled the co-pilot from his seat, and threw him backward. After this, other passengers caught hold of him and controlled him.
Trump said that the passenger later said that he had learned some basic principles of flying by watching the TV program Air Disasters.
Trump said, "He said that he watches this program a lot and by watching it he learned to fly the plane to some extent."
According to Trump, additional pilots and security personnel present in the rear of the plane later reached the cockpit and took control of the plane.
"I think it's the most incredible story," he said.
However, Trump also clarified that he was only narrating the information he received and he has not independently confirmed these facts.
