'You can't die like this': flydubai captain Smit Machchhar recounts cockpit attack by co-pilot

An airline captain who was attacked by his co-pilot in the cockpit of a flydubai jet has described the moment he was struck from behind, and the crew who, he said, saved his life.

Captain Smit Machchhar was flying flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on 30 September when the attack happened. Speaking from Zayed Military Hospital in Abu Dhabi, where he is recovering, he gave the fullest account yet of what happened on the flight deck.

“And that’s when it started”

Machchhar said another captain, travelling on the flight as positioning crew, had come into the cockpit and was chatting with him about rosters and schedules. The co-pilot took a toilet break and then said he wanted to pray. The other captain left, and the co-pilot prayed just behind Machchhar’s seat.

The captain was checking routine information on his computer when he was hit hard on the back of the head. “And that’s when it started,” he said. The blows kept coming. At first he thought part of the aircraft’s structure had failed.

His vision narrowed to a few inches. He unbuckled his seatbelt, tried to block the blows, screamed for the other captain and reached for the cockpit door switch before blacking out. He told himself to do something. “You can’t die like this,” he said.

He managed to open the door and heard shouting before it closed again. Then he heard the engines spool down and felt the aircraft dive. Drifting in and out of consciousness, his next memory is of lying face down between the cockpit and the galley, with the door open and chaos around him. He was pulled clear, and a senior cabin crew member looked after him.

Praise for the crew

Machchhar said the co-pilot was someone he had met for the first time on that flight, and that nothing had seemed wrong beforehand. “It was the first time we met… there were some small talks,” he said.

He credited a “very, very, very efficient crew who saved my life”, and singled out the second captain. “The other thing, how my other colleague took over the controls and saved the day again is commendable,” he said. Passengers, he added, “did their best”.

He thanked the UAE for his treatment. “The medical care which I was given and the sheer support of the entire UAE government I will never forget in my life,” he said.

Back in uniform

The attack has not put him off flying. “I will be back in action hopefully soon. And I can’t wait to put on the uniform and get back to work,” Machchhar said. Asked whether his love for aviation had died, he answered: “Not at all. Not at all.”