Abu Dhabi:
Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar has opened up about the moment his Omani co-pilot repeatedly struck him with a crash axe with the intention of crashing the passenger plane and killing 172 people on board. Speaking to The National from his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, the flight captain, who has been hailed a hero, also spoke about the mystery surrounding Israeli plumber Yaniv Hayoun's reported role in stopping the attempted hijacking of the flight to Tel Aviv.
Machchhar recalled that before the attack, first officer Hamad al-Hammami was sitting next to him for two hours and had shown no sign of what Emirati prosecutors call a "premeditated terrorist plot".
"The first time when I was hit...my thought was something's gone horribly wrong with the aircraft structure, which has fallen on my head," the Indian pilot told The National.
"It almost made me fall on my control column. In the next couple of seconds, when the hits kept on coming, [I realised] it's the other person who I thought was supposed to be on the team."
Machchhar said he was not entirely sure how events unfolded after the attack, but he managed to free himself from the seat belt and opened the cockpit after several attempts.
"And [I was] screaming for my colleagues. I believe that was the first time when I lost consciousness. I fell face down in the cockpit."
Machchhar remembered later being hauled out of the cockpit amid "chaos and commotion". It was soon after that when passengers and crew restrained the attacker, and a pair of off-duty flydubai pilots took control of the plane.
"The next thing I remember was [being] pulled out by one of the passengers. And then, soon after that, the senior cabin crew thankfully reached where I was and did his magic. And yeah, that's how I'm speaking to you today," he said.
When asked about plumber Yaniv Hayoun's reported role in stopping the attempted hijacking, Machchhar said, "I don't know about the plumber story, to be very honest."
Hayoun, a plumber, has said he beat and pinned down the co-pilot after breaking into the cockpit and then brought the aircraft under control. He told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he had watched "Air Crash Investigation", through which he learnt how to control the plane.
Machchhar said, "My entire energy was focusing towards not giving up...I do remember the senior of the flight speaking and saying that the captain was at control."
"Can a plumber land an aircraft? I don't want to get into the guesswork here, but at the same time to answer your question, my recollection and my energy at that point were just to keep myself alive," he added, leaving room for interpretation, as it remains unclear whether he was expressing doubt about the account or simply saying he was unfamiliar with it.
The Omani co-pilot was taken into custody after the plane landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Machchhar was also initially treated at a hospital in the kingdom before being transferred to Abu Dhabi, where he is recovering.
The Indian Embassy said on October 6 that he was making "steady progress" and "regaining his health".