Indian Flydubai Pilot ‘Hero’ Suffers Skull Fracture, Memory Problems; the co-pilot may have intended to kill him | New details | Today’s news
The Indian “hero” pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, who foiled the attempted crash of the Flydubai flight while fighting with his Omani co-pilot, has suffered a fractured skull, severe injuries to his head and hand and is having trouble recalling the events, according to a CNN-News18 report.
On September 30 last Wednesday, an Omani co-pilot attempted to sabotage a Flydubai flight carrying 170 passengers, almost all of whom were Israelis. He later attacked Machchhar who tried to avert the incident.
Machchhar was attacked with an impact ax by Al-Hammam, but still managed to open the cockpit door, allowing the passengers to rush to the scene and subdue the assailant.
Citing sources, CNN-News18 reported that the co-pilot may have intended to seriously injure or even kill the captain while piloting the plane.
The publication further reported that the injury severely affected Machchhar’s optic nerves, rendering his vision blurry. He also has difficulty recalling events and describes his memory of the incident as “in bits and pieces”.
“I tried to stop him. But because of the initial wounds, my vision was almost nothing. I was completely blurred,” Machhar told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a recent interview.
“My memory is in bits and pieces right now. But this is what I remember from that time,” he told Netanyahu.
Captain Machchhar is still recovering
According to a CNN-News18 report, Machchhar continues to experience severe headaches and is being given heavy doses of sedatives and painkillers. Doctors also perform neurological tests while monitoring him closely.
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“He started walking, took a few steps and started eating a little bit. So it looks like he’s on the road to recovery,” an official familiar with his condition told CNN-News18.
An Indian pilot was airlifted to a hospital in Abu Dhabi after receiving treatment for a fractured skull in Saudi Arabia.
India’s ambassador to the UAE, Deepak Mittal, said Machchhar was recovering and was “smiling, laughing and talking” in hospital.
“I have just met him along with his family here in the hospital in the UAE and he is doing well. I am very relieved and very reassured that he is doing well, he is quite stable. He was talking, chatting, a little discomfort but I think he is getting good medical care here in the UAE,” Mittal told Prasar Bharati.
The co-pilot was said to have planned the attack before joining Flydubai
A Flydubai co-pilot who allegedly stabbed his captain in an attempt to take control of the plane told UAE investigators he planned the attack before joining Dubai’s state-owned airline, Reuters reported, citing two Israeli officials familiar with the investigation.
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A third source briefed on the UAE probe said the Omani national allegedly intended to crash at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv last Wednesday. The co-pilot also flew a Tel Aviv-bound flight earlier this year and reportedly considered hijacking and crashing that plane, but ultimately abandoned the plan, the source said.
The reason for his decision to abandon the earlier plan was not immediately known. However, the source said the co-pilot was believed to have known someone traveling on the flight.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing the ongoing investigation. UAE and Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment, while Flydubai also did not immediately comment.
