Days after an Omani national who was a co-pilot on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv attacked Indian pilot Smit Machchhar with a crash axe in an attempt to crash the plane, the focus is now shifting to the mystery pilots who stepped in to stop the plane from crashing after the pilot was seriously injured.
AP on Saturday (local time) reported that three days after the crew members rushed to the cockpit after Machchhar opened the cockpit door while injured and subdued the co-pilot to steady the Israel-bound plane, which was carrying 182 people, they haven't been identified publicly so far. The airline has only described them as on-duty crew members who were travelling on the plane.
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During the flight FZ1073, co-pilot Hamam al Hammami attacked Indian pilot Smit Machchhar with a crash axe in an apparent attempt to crash the plane, leading to a rapid descent before the situation was brought under control.
The mystery pilots are uniformed crew members who were on duty and traveling on the flight. They rushed to the cockpit to help stabilize the aircraft and subdue the co-pilot after he attacked Machchhar.
The incident is labeled a terrorist attack because the co-pilot allegedly attempted to take control of the aircraft to cause it to crash, influenced by prior radical indoctrination.
Despite suffering serious injuries, Machchhar opened the cockpit door, allowing other crew members and passengers to assist in restraining the co-pilot, which helped stabilize the aircraft.
Smit Machchhar has been hailed as a hero for his bravery; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited him to light a flame on Israeli Independence Day, praising his life-saving actions.
However, it remains unclear why the airline hasn't said more about the identity of those uniformed crew members. Speaking with AP, a passenger who sat at the front of the plane recalled how the two men sprang into action and saved over 180 lives.
Daniel Schlichter, who was seated in the second row, called it a "miracle." He added, "That's not on every flight; they bring two extra pilots. In this case, they brought them because they should have brought the plane back from Tel Aviv to Dubai, and this is the only reason they were there."
According to the passenger, the two men sprang into action after they heard other passengers screaming and discovered what was unfolding in the cockpit. After a passenger pulled the co-pilot out and others wrestled with him to restrain him, Schlichter said one of the travelling pilots jumped over the group and rushed into the cockpit to take control of the aircraft.
Schlichter said, "He was actually kind of jumping above the guys that were handling the terrorist, and he reached out to the pilot area and started to take over," and added, "And then the other guy, the other pilot, joined in and they closed the door because they didn't want anybody else to be there."
He also recalled that while many were confused about who the two men were and where they came from, the first man moved very quickly. The passenger noted, "He acted really like a hero, taking over the plane and reacting like he understood exactly what was going on, and I think we owe him our lives no less than the other heroes that went on the flight."
On Wednesday, Indian pilot Smit Machchhar suffered serious injuries after his co-pilot, an Omani national, attacked him with a crash axe and apparently planned to crash the aircraft with Israelis on board. The incident, which was first described as a "violent altercation", caused the plane to drop altitude in a fraction of a second. Though injured, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, with crew members and passengers helping to subdue the co-pilot. The flight was later diverted to Saudi Arabia's Tabuk, where it landed at a civilian and military base.
