Bloodied and injured, the pilot at the centre of this week’s terrifying mid-air struggle on a flydubai flight says he fought back for one reason: to keep everyone on board alive.
Smit Machchhar, pictured with a tube in his nose and bandages on his head and hands, spoke from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi during a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I was trying to save my own life, but I knew I could not let all those people die,” he said in the conversation, footage of which Mr Modi posted on social media.
“I knew that the aircraft was going down … I had fallen to the ground. I told myself that the door is right there, just open it. I managed to do it and people entered,” he said.
Mr Machchhar was wounded in what authorities describe as an alleged attempt by his co-pilot to crash the flydubai aircraft on Wednesday, while it was en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
The jet, carrying 174 people, dropped almost 14,000ft (4,267m) in under 30 seconds during the incident.
The incident happened when the plane was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv
Recounting the moments inside the cockpit, Mr Machchhar pointed to his experience in the air as he realised the plane was in danger.
“I have been flying for the last 17 years, have been a captain for the last 11 years, and even if I shut my eyes, I can tell what is happening inside a planeI knew that the aircraft was going down,” he said.
“When I was lying on the floor, I could feel that the aircraft was plunging and I said to myself while I was getting beaten, ‘this is the last push Smit, do it, the door is right there.’ Somehow, I opened the door and everyone came in and everyone else had an equal role (in the rescue). I was trying to save myself but I also knew that I can’t let anyone die.
“I am not thinking about my wounds like typical wounds because that will hinder my recovery.
“I am taking these wounds like a journey which will progress slowly and it will take time but I am very confident that this recovery will happen and I will be absolutely healthy.”
Mr Modi lauded Mr Machchhar’s actions, telling him his courage and quick thinking had protected lives and upheld the reputation of Indian pilots.
“I know God saved me,” said Mr Machchhar, who is from Mr Modi’s home state of Gujarat. He also told the prime minister he recited a Hindu prayer to the monkey god Hanuman as the ordeal unfolded.
Mr Machchhar was left covered in blood and on the floor when he managed to open the cockpit door, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Reuters.
That opening, the spokesperson said, enabled passengers and crew to overpower the co-pilot. It also allowed a second pair of flydubai pilots who were on board to enter the cockpit, take control of the plane and divert it safely to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump warned Iran would be “hit very hard” if it is found to have any connection to the attack.
The warning came as the United Arab Emirates launched an investigation into whether terrorism played a role, and as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the suspect had been subjected to “Islamist radical indoctrination”.
