As investigators piece together the motive for the apparent hijack attempt on a flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, stories of passengers grappling for control of the airliner and a plumber steering the aircraft have revealed the dramatic sequence of events. FlyDubai flight 1073 abruptly plummeted more than 17,000 feet roughly two hours after taking off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Israel early on Wednesday. Passengers and crew forced their way into the cockpit after one of the pilots, later named as Indian national Captain Smit Machchha, was stabbed by his co-pilot, officials said.
Images from the ground showed part of the aircraft's rudder had been damaged during the plane's violent descent. Officials said 174 passengers were on board, most of whom were Israeli. None of the passengers were reported injured.
Hayoun, still dressed in visibly blood-stained clothing, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel after the plane had initially made an emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. Hayoun, speaking to Netanyahu in Hebrew, said the stabbed pilot had managed to open up the cockpit before collapsing. With the injured pilot on the floor, the suspected hijacker looked to be trying to destroy the plane's control systems, Hayoun told Netanyahu.
He managed to put the alleged attacker in a chokehold and wrestled him out of the cockpit with the help of another person as the plane nosedived. With the suspected hijacker pinned down by other passengers, Hayoun said he managed to stabilize the plane's altitude before the injured pilot took over. Machchha was widely praised by Indian and Israeli officials as a hero and was admitted to hospital in Tabuk with "severe wounds," the Indian embassy in Riyadh said.
Hayoun works in maintenance and doesn't have any experience in security, he told The Free Press in an interview. Netanyahu described Hayoun as a plumber. He made similar comments in his recorded conversation with Netanyahu.
Hayoun said he looked toward his wife and children and "realized I have to do something." The suspected hijacker has not been named but is widely described in Israeli and international media reports as an Omani national. Omani authorities have not publicly commented. He remains under arrest and Saudi investigators are working with the UAE, the U.S., and Oman to piece together a motive, an unnamed regional official told the .
Extract — continue reading at the source.
