Captain Smit Machchhar, who is credited with helping avert a potential disaster aboard a flydubai flight on September 30, has recalled the terrifying moments when his co-pilot attacked him inside the cockpit.
He said he tried to shield himself from repeated blows before losing consciousness as the aircraft plunged thousands of feet.
I lost a lot. Israeli President Isaac Herzog has announced that he would confer Israel’s Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism on the captain. The Gujarat government has also announced the Visisht Gujarat Garima Award in recognition of his actions during the incident.
“My immediate action was to free myself from the seat belts. Machchhar’s actions have drawn recognition internationally. Because the blows were coming on the head… While the first few blows came in, my vision … it was so narrow, and I tried to just block the blows as much as I could,.
As the aircraft descended by 17,000 feet, Machchhar said the sound of the engines slowing down was among the most frightening moments of the ordeal.
Recalling the first blow, Machchhar said he initially thought something had gone wrong with the aircraft itself. He said his immediate priority was to free himself from his seat belt and protect his head from further blows. I was just looking (at) outlines,” he said. “The scariest thing that I heard and felt was the engines spooling down,” he said.
