The dentist who helped save the life of flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar said he feared time was running out when a group of passengers and reserve pilots took control of Flight FZ1073 and stopped what was said to have been an attempted terrorist attack.
Dr Shota Musaev, 47, spoke to The National about the terrifying 45 minutes in which he struggled to control the blood gushing from stab wounds on Capt Machchhar’s head and hands, and of the post-traumatic stress he had suffered since the ordeal.
The UAE’s Attorney General has said investigations are continuing into “an attempted terrorist attack” on September 30, in which the co-pilot was said to have used a crash axe to attack the captain and attempted to control the aircraft, before it was landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
Dr Musaev and his wife Sigalit had been settling into a connecting flight from China via Dubai to take them home to Israel when he heard screams and later shouts for a doctor. He then rushed forward to help the stricken captain.
“There was heavy bleeding from his head and left hand,” Dr Musaev told The National from Holon, a city south of Tel Aviv. “I used T-shirts to press the wounds but it [the bleeding] didn’t stop so I asked the stewards for ice.
“He had very, very deep cuts and we needed many ice packets. But every time I opened the T-shirt to check the bleeding, it would bleed more. So I pressed not very hard and with ice. All through the 45 minutes I kept the pressure on.”
'Don’t be afraid'
The doctor was crouched in the narrow space near the aircraft exit as he administered emergency aid and kept the badly wounded captain conscious.
“I told him, ‘Please don’t sleep, we need you.’ I asked how many children he had, their names. I kept telling him, 'Don't be afraid, you will go back to your family, we are landing soon,'” Dr Musaev said.
Capt Machchhar gave his name and age, said he lived in Dubai and was from India, and asked for help to ease his pain.
“He said, ‘Please help me.' He said, 'My God is with me. I want to live. I don’t want to die here.' Every time we spoke, he said, 'I have pain in my head; it’s hurting.'
“He was cut badly and would say, 'I’m feeling hot on my hands.' I kept telling him that he would be OK,” Dr Musaev said.
He then propped up Capt Machchhar’s feet when his vital signs deteriorated.
“At one time, his pulse was too low, so I put his feet up and the pulse came back,” Dr Musaev said. “When I saw his lips were blue, I told the steward, 'We need to land quickly. He doesn’t have much more time'.”
In videos shared, Capt Machchhar can be heard asking for painkillers. Dr Musaev gave him small sips of water and decided against administering pills because of the heavy bleeding.
“He was lying on his back and I hesitated to lift him because I didn’t want re-bleeding. It was dangerous to move him or give him medicines. The stewards wanted to give him medicine but I didn’t agree.”
He constantly monitored Capt Machchhar’s vital signs to keep him alive. “If he talks, does not sleep, his pulse, the colour of lips, these were the indicators I had,” Dr Musaev said.
While helping a passenger tie up the co-pilot with headphone cables, the doctor learnt the assailant had damaged the cockpit console.
He saw two standby pilots enter the cockpit with a passenger to steady the plane as a small group of passengers kept a close watch on other passengers, fearing more terrorists were on board.
“We were at the plane exit, in front of the cockpit, and every time we scanned the area, we were worried there may be more terrorists on the plane. A small group was scanning and checking until we landed in Saudi Arabia.”
Saving lives and karma
Once in Saudi Arabia, Dr Musaev handed the captain over to doctors on the ground in Tabuk with a quick farewell: “Good luck my friend. Everything will be good.” But he said he and his wife had suffered post-traumatic stress in the days following.
“My wife and I sleep two hours in the night. My weight has gone down three kilograms in the last three days. The post-trauma will start now as we understand what happened to us.”
He said each passenger had played a role in turning around what could have been a catastrophe, from a woman passenger who raised the alarm to those who handed him T-shirts to slow the severe bleeding.
“Smit saved our lives. Smit is a hero and I thank him for everything he did to save my family, all the passengers. It's karma, he saved our lives and we saved his life.
“Everyone in the plane is a hero, the woman who heard something wrong in the cockpit and shouted, she is a hero, too. Everyone on this flight has hero status,” the dentist said.
“Without medical help, Smit would not have lived because of the bleeding. But I did not do something special, I just stopped the bleeding and stabilised his pulse, that’s it.”
