Christine Drews Sieger
Off-duty pilots and passengers averted disaster after a co-pilot attempted to hijack a FlyDubai flight mid-air.
When disaster strikes high above the earth, survival depends entirely on the courage of the people nearby.
That nightmare scenario unfolded on 30 September aboard FlyDubai Flight 1073 en route to Tel Aviv. While cruising through Saudi airspace, the first officer seized an emergency crash axe from the cockpit and launched a brutal assault against Captain Smit Machchhar.
The ensuing struggle sent the Boeing 737, carrying around 150 passengers, into a terrifying 16,000-foot plunge in just 30 seconds.
From his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, Captain Machchhar later recounted how completely unprepared he was for the blow.
Before realising his own colleague was attacking him, his immediate instinct was that something had gone “horribly wrong the aircraft structure.”
Despite severe head injuries, the bleeding captain managed to unlock the flight deck door, allowing help to reach him, according to The Independent News.
Desperate struggle in the cockpit
Inside the cabin, passengers realised catastrophe was unfolding and rushed forward to intervene.
Among them was Yaniv Hayun, who helped overpower the assailant. “We pulled the assailant out, I pulled him out.
After I pulled him out we took control of the plane, I pulled up the yoke, I straightened the plane out a bit,” Hayun recounted.
A fatal crash was ultimately averted thanks to two off-duty pilots travelling as passengers: Henson Steven from Fiji and Rowan Tooth from South Africa.
The pair, who had previously flown for Fiji Airways and South African carrier Airlink, were originally on the manifest simply to operate the return flight.
Instead, they took the controls amidst the chaos and executed a safe emergency landing on Saudi soil, according to The Independent News.
Presidential honours for the crew
The crew’s decisive actions drew international praise. United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan formally conferred the First Class Order of Zayed II upon Steven, Tooth, and their fellow crew members “in recognition of their courageous efforts to ensure the safety of passengers.”
Captain Machchhar attended the ceremony bearing visible signs of the ordeal, his arm held in a sling and stitches lining his head, according to The Independent News.
The meeting also featured a lighter, personal moment: the UAE president encouraged him to take up martial arts once he recovers, remarking, “I have an idea. When you heal, I want to have a session with you to train you how to fight.” Machchhar replied: “It’s my biggest honour.”
Motive under investigation
UAE prosecutors have noted that the hijacking attempt drew direct inspiration from the September 11 terror attacks, according to The Independent News.
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the co-pilot, an Omani national, had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination, official investigators continue to examine the case to establish a full motive.
