1 hr ago
Passengers Restrained Alleged Flydubai Co-Pilot After Mid-Air Attack
A Flydubai plane was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv when people heard a fight in the cockpit.
The captain, Smit Machchaar, was allegedly attacked by the co-pilot.
Six-year-old Nina Manes and her mother heard the struggle and warned others.
The plane then dropped very quickly, frightening the passengers.
Nina and her sister cried for their father, Tzvika, to help them.
Their cries encouraged him and two other passengers to go toward the cockpit.
They helped hold down the alleged attacker while another pilot helped fly the plane.
A dentist gave the injured captain oxygen and treated his wounds.
The aircraft landed safely in Saudi Arabia, and investigators are still examining what happened.
Six-year-old Nina Manes and her mother heard screams and a struggle near the cockpit.
The Indian captain, Smit Machchaar, was allegedly stabbed by his Omani co-pilot.
Nina’s cries prompted her father, Tzvika Manes, to rush toward the cockpit with two other passengers.
An off-duty pilot helped control the aircraft before it made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
A dentist treated the injured captain, while authorities investigate the attack and cockpit-security procedures.
- Who
- Flydubai passengers, including six-year-old Nina Manes and her parents; Captain Smit Machchaar; the alleged co-pilot; and assisting pilots and a dentist.
- What
- An alleged cockpit stabbing caused a dangerous descent, after which passengers restrained the alleged attacker and the aircraft diverted for an emergency landing.
- Where
- The flight was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv and landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
- When
- During Flydubai Flight FZ1073; the reports do not provide a specific date for the incident.
- Why
- The alleged attack and its circumstances remain under investigation; authorities have not established a confirmed motive.
Passenger Accounts
Officially Unresolved Questions
What happened in the cockpit
Passenger Accounts
Tali Manes said she saw blood and a violent struggle and reported that the co-pilot was stabbing the captain.
Officially Unresolved Questions
Authorities are investigating the circumstances and identity of the alleged attacker, so the account has not been fully established by official findings.
Co-Pilot nationality and security
Passenger Accounts
Reports described the alleged attacker as Omani, raising questions about how he was assigned to a flight to Israel.
Officially Unresolved Questions
Omani authorities had not confirmed his nationality, and the investigation was still examining the crew member’s identity, background and aviation-security procedures.
Who helped save the flight
Passenger Accounts
Passenger accounts credit Nina’s cries, her father and other passengers, an off-duty pilot, and a dentist with helping avert a worse outcome.
Officially Unresolved Questions
The reports describe the contributions but do not provide a completed official determination of how responsibility for the emergency response should be assigned.
Key facts
- Flight
- Flydubai Flight FZ1073
- Route
- Dubai to Tel Aviv
- Passengers
- 174 people were aboard; News18 reported that 166 were Israeli.
- Reported descent
- The Sun reported that the aircraft dropped 17,400 feet in about 90 seconds.
- Emergency landing
- The aircraft landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
- Captain
- Indian pilot Smit Machchaar was seriously injured and treated aboard the aircraft.
- Investigation
- Investigations were reported to be taking place in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
Quotes
Tzvika Manes
Father of Nina Manes and passenger who helped restrain the alleged attacker
“He saved the life of the Indian captain, gave him oxygen, stopped his bleeding with blankets and all kinds of equipment that was in the area.”
firstpost.com
“They said, ‘Dad we don’t want to die.’ [Their cries] were the triggers that caused me to run inside the cockpit.”
firstpost.com
Sources
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