Indian pilot Smit Machchhar who was attacked by his co-pilot aboard a Flydubai flight has recalled how a routine journey turned into a fight for survival, describing the repeated blows to his head, his attempts to call for help and the moments he lost consciousness as the aircraft went into a dive.after he was stabbed by his Omani copilot Hamam Al Hammami who was allegedly trying to crash the plane.In an exclusive 1st news interview after being stabbed, with Sky News Arabia, Captain Smith Machchhar said there had been nothing unusual about the flight until about two hours after take-off. He was carrying out routine checks in the cockpit when the attack began, initially mistaking the first blow to the back of his head for damage to the aircraft.Giving out details as he remembered he said, “when I was just in in the checking my computer for the timing and everything, uh suddenly there was a a very hard hit at the back of my head, right here. And uh it was quite hard and felt that it was something which was very strong.”He said he initially thought something had broken off the aircraft’s roof and hit him, causing catastrophic damage. Drawing on his training, he tried to regain his composure and check the aircraft’s systems. “My thought process went on that track, that oh, there is a big damage in the aircraft which has hit me at the back,” he said.But within seconds, he realised he was being attacked. “He kept on hitting,” Machchhar said. He recalled turning around and realising what was happening, although the impact had severely restricted his field of vision.“Immediately, I would say in the next few seconds, my vision was restricted to like few inches,” he said, adding that he learnt about the extent of the impact from doctors later.His first response was to protect himself from further blows. He quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, turned around and tried to block the attack, sustaining an injury to his hand. “At this point, it was very obvious what was going on,” he said.
‘Smith, do something. You can’t die like this’
Machchhar said he immediately tried to get help from another captain who was on board and was expected to operate the return flight. “I was screaming his name and I was trying because the switch was very close to me to open the door. I was trying to just get help in,” he said.He lost consciousness amid the commotion but remembered managing to open the cockpit door. He could hear shouting as the other crew members confronted the co-pilot. “The door shut immediately after that because he threatened to hit them as well,” Machchhar said.By then, he was struggling to stay conscious and could feel his strength fading because of blood loss. Soon afterwards, he heard the engine sounds change and felt the aircraft go into a dive. “Since I’ve been flying for such a long time, I don’t have to see the instruments to figure out or hear the engine to know what’s happening,” he said.Machchhar said he repeatedly drifted in and out of consciousness but realised he had to fight to survive. “There was a moment where I realised and I told myself that, ‘Smith, do something. You can’t die like this,’” he said.His memories of what happened next remain fragmented. He recalled trying to reach the door, bracing his leg against something and pushing himself forward.“The next memory that I have is the door’s open and I’m lying between the cockpit and the galley,” he said. He remembered being face down as panic and shouting continued around him.
‘Everyone did their best’
While Machchhar was fighting to survive, another captain took over the controls and helped save the aircraft. “The other thing, how my other colleague who took over the controls and saved the day again is commendable. It’s something that I’ll keep with me till I die,” he said.Asked what he wanted people to understand about the incident amid speculation over how the plane was saved, Machchhar said everyone on board had done what they could.“I think everyone in world everyone in world did the best in their capacity to save the day,” he said. The pilot said the first blow continued to haunt him in the days after the attack.“Immediately after the event, I used to get flashes of the first hit. And trust me, it shook me up for the first few days,” he said, describing how the memory would return suddenly and leave his heart racing.But what stayed with him most was the determination of those on board. “One thing that I would take away from that day was the determination, the sheer determination of everyone to survive,” he said.Machchhar said he felt out of danger only when the aircraft touched down in Saudi Arabia. By then, a doctor was attending to him in the galley, while crew members worked to keep him conscious.
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Asked whom he thought of first, he replied: “My son.” His two-year-old son, wife and daughter live with him in the UAE.Machchhar also expressed gratitude for the medical treatment he received in Saudi Arabia and after being brought back to the UAE. “From the first day onwards, the way I was taken care of, the way I was brought back to the UAE, even the care that I was given in Saudi is something I would never forget in my life,” he said.Still recovering from the traumatic incident, he said he felt grateful for the care and support he had received over the preceding two-and-a-half weeks.“Grateful is the word I would say right now,” he said.
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