A flydubai pilot praised for his efforts to save lives after being attacked by his co-pilot is “recovering well”, the Indian embassy in the UAE said on Saturday.
Capt Smit Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door after he was struck with a crash axe, letting in crew members and passengers to help avert disaster as the plane plunged thousands of feet.
A small group of passengers and a reserve pilot overpowered the co-pilot, steadied the plane and managed to land the Boeing 737 in Tabuk, north-western Saudi Arabia.
The Indian pilot is receiving care at a hospital in Abu Dhabi following the mid-air emergency on flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
“Indian braveheart Capt Smit remains under excellent medical care and is recovering well,” the embassy said in a social media update on Saturday.
“We are in touch with his family local authorities, extending support for a speedy recovery.”
The embassy thanked the UAE government for its care and said it was praying for the good health of the pilot.
On Friday, Capt Machchhar spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a 10-minute phone call from an Abu Dhabi hospital bed.
“In that moment I was fighting for my life,” said Capt Machchhar, with bandages covering his head and hands, as he recalled his harrowing ordeal.
“But there was a moment then when I realised that if I didn’t do something … I had fallen down, I had so many injuries but I thought then if I don’t get up … I had been flying for 17 years, I have been captain for the last 11 years. With my eyes closed, I know what is happening in the plane.”
'Act of terrorism'
Hamad Al Shamsi, the UAE's attorney general, said on Saturday that investigations had revealed the co-pilot attacked the captain on the flight deck using a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft.
A crash axe is typically kept in a plane cockpit for use during emergencies.
The attorney general said the co-pilot – whose name and nationally has not been disclosed by UAE authorities – had “attempted to carry out a terrorist act”.
The attorney general said investigations were continuing to establish the full circumstances and motives behind the incident, including examining and analysing physical and digital evidence.
