The ‘heroic’ Indian captain of flydubai flight FZ1073 has told how he struggled to open the cockpit door of his plane after his co-pilot nearly stabbed him on Wednesday.
On Thursday, in a video call from his hospital bed in Saudi Arabia, Captain Sumit Machar told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “As I lay down, I could feel the plane plummeting and I knew this was my last chance to do something. I knew the door was just around the corner.”
As a result of his actions, as the plane was hurtling towards the ground, the passengers and crew were able to burst into the cockpit and overpower the attackers, regaining control of the plane and ultimately preventing it from crashing.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump praised the actions of an “Israeli plumber” whose quick actions inside the cockpit helped prevent a major tragedy.
President Trump told reporters: “An Israeli plumber saw what was going on. He’s strong. You know, when you lift pipes all day long, you’re strong. And he saw what was going on and heard the screams.”
As the plane plummeted some 17,000 feet (5,180 meters) in just a few minutes, the U.S. president said, “Gravity was there, so he ripped the guy out of his seat and threw him back. The crowd grabbed him. And he, who had never been in a plane before, grabbed a stick and held it up and leveled the plane before it crashed.”
Several days have passed since the incident, and more testimonies from passengers are coming forward.
Flight FZ1073 departed Dubai for Tel Aviv at 7:05 a.m. (3:05 p.m. Japan time) on Wednesday, according to Flightradar24, climbing to an altitude of 34,000 feet (more than 10,000 meters). A little more than two hours later, it suddenly started to descend, then quickly descended before ascending, then descending again.
By 05:33 JST, 12 minutes after the plane began its steep descent, it was flying at an altitude of about 15,000 feet (4,570 meters) when it began to level out.
Here’s what we know about what happened during those terrifying few minutes.
05:21 GMT: Flydubai plane begins steep descent
According to Flightradar24 data, the aircraft began with a deep descent, then climbed sharply and made a second steep descent.
Passenger Adam Polo, who was on the plane with his wife and two young children, told CNN that the initial drop momentarily felt “like a normal air pocket.” “But after a second, we realized that the decrease and acceleration of the drop was not normal.”
“The electricity, all multimedia systems and air conditioning on the plane were shut down,” he said. “People who were standing in the aisles or going to the bathroom fell. People who weren’t sitting down fell, too. So it was like the craziest roller coaster you’ve ever been on, multiplied by a thousand.”
Within two minutes, the plane had descended more than 17,000 feet. Passengers who spoke to the media after their safe return said the plane was in “chaos”, with people screaming and repeated turbulence.
“The plane was descending at an unbelievable angle, so sharp that the rudder ripped off the back of the plane,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “The plane was not designed to fly at anything close to that speed, so it was way over the limit.”
‘Fighting for my life’: Captain stabbed
Meanwhile, a fight broke out between the two pilots in the cockpit. The co-pilot stabbed and attacked the Indian captain, Sumit Machal.
On Thursday, Machar described how he was on the cockpit floor when he suddenly suffered serious injuries.
“As I was lying injured on the floor, I told myself to give one last push to open the door from inside,” PM Modi said in a video call.
All cockpit doors are locked during flight and only the pilot can open them. But Doron Shpilman, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told the media that Macchahar “muscled his last moments of strength” to click open the cockpit door release, even though he was lying on the floor covered in blood.
“Others also came in and played their part (in controlling the situation). Of course, I was fighting for my life, but at the same time I knew I was not going to let anyone else die,” Machar told PM Modi.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later praised Machar as a “true hero”, saying he had shown “extraordinary courage” and that his single action had saved the lives of the 174 people on board the plane.
“Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, and opened the cockpit door, allowing the passengers and crew to overwhelm the attackers and preventing a catastrophic aerial disaster,” he told X.
The captain told Modi that he had been flying planes for 17 years and “even with my eyes closed, I can tell what’s going on with the plane.”
“His courage, perseverance and quick decision-making saved many lives,” the prime minister said, making all of India proud of him.
On Thursday, the Indian embassy in the United Arab Emirates reported that Matchahar was “in good health and recovering well” in Abu Dhabi, where he was airlifted after receiving initial treatment in Saudi Arabia.
The Indian embassy in Riyadh said the “brave Indian pilot” was initially admitted to a hospital in Tabuk, a city in northwest Saudi Arabia where the plane landed.
“While further updates on his health are awaited, his condition is reported to be stable. We wish him a speedy recovery from his injuries,” wrote X.
“Just like in the movies”: passengers rush into the cockpit
Passenger Tzvika Maness said that as soon as the captain opened the door, his wife, who was taking their young daughter to the toilet at the front of the plane, heard screams and a struggle inside the cockpit.
Maness told Israel’s Channel 12 that he alerted the flight attendants, who said the co-pilot stabbed him and caused him to fall out of the cockpit door. Maness said he dragged his daughter out of the bathroom before engaging the gunman.
At that point, “some of the passengers, realizing something was going on, rushed forward and went into the pilot’s cabin. They found the injured pilot on the ground, and the other … attacking pilot was standing on the control panel and banging on the control panel,” Spielman said.
Asaf Rajuan, one of the Israeli passengers who detained the co-pilot, told Channel 12 that the incident was “like something out of a movie. I never thought something like this could happen in real life.”
Rajuan said he and other passengers heard screams from the cockpit as they felt the plane plummet.
Passenger Yaniv Hayun, the Israeli plumber mentioned by Trump, later told a television interview how he, Maness and Rajuan forced their way into the cockpit, where they found the injured captain lying next to the door.
“When I got inside, I saw the terrorist on top of the controls between the two seats. There was no pilot in the seat. I grabbed the terrorist and put him in the hold and pulled him out first,” he said, adding that the co-pilot appeared to be trying to destroy the controls on the flight deck.
When the first officer arrived in the cabin, passengers, including a dentist who was tending to the captain’s injuries, spent several minutes restraining him and using corded headphones. There are also reports of him shouting, “Kill me!”
‘Jump back’: Passenger seizes control of plane
After pulling the co-pilot into the cabin, Hayun hurried back to the cockpit.
“I jumped in there, grabbed the controls and started pulling the controls,” he said. “I watch Mayday,” he added, referring to the Canadian television series about air disasters.
At that point, another pilot, who had moved further back in the plane, arrived in the cockpit.
“The plane started to level out a little bit more and then the pilot said he would take over from there,” Hayun said.
At 05:28 GMT (it is unclear whether this was before or after the new pilot arrived in the cockpit), the aircraft began transmitting transponder code 7700, the international code for general emergencies. At this point, the plane was flying near the border between Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
‘Really bad conditions’: Passengers tend to be captains
The dentist, who was returning to Israel from China, rushed to the aid of the injured captain during the chaos.
“When I heard the screams, I didn’t wait for 10 seconds. When I got into the cockpit, the pilot was in a really bad condition and was bleeding profusely, especially from his head,” Shota Musaev told the Times of Israel.
“Even though I was the only doctor on the plane, I eventually managed to stop the bleeding and stabilize my blood pressure,” he said.
Musaev said he believes the emergency treatment he provided the 39-year-old pilot saved Machar’s life.
“It was a very difficult moment, but together with several brave people on board the plane, we were able to avert a situation that came very close to disaster,” Musaev said. He also told Channel 12 how he tied the co-pilot’s hands and feet multiple times to secure him.
05:33 GMT: Flydubai plane flying at 15,000 feet
Flightradar24 recorded that the plane leveled out at 15,000 feet. Two minutes later, at 05:35 GMT, the transponder code changed to 7500, indicating unlawful interference. The aircraft then turned west and briefly entered Jordanian airspace before turning toward Saudi Arabia.
05:44 GMT: Alert for emergency landing
Air traffic controllers in Tabuk received a distress signal from Flight FZ1073 requesting an emergency landing.
As the aircraft approached Tabuk, the transponder returned to code 7700, indicating a general emergency.
06:58 GMT: FZ1073 landing
About four hours after takeoff, the Flydubai plane touched down in Tabuk, where emergency medical staff and security officials awaited the 174 people on board, including the injured attacker, a bleeding pilot and a “plumber” who temporarily took charge of the plane’s control panel.
