⚠️ New details on what happened inside the Flydubai cockpit, in Captain Smit Machchar’s own account to the Israeli PM:
1️⃣ The flight was normal. The co-pilot said he wanted to pray, something Machchar says was not unusual among local pilots.
2️⃣ Machchar faced forward while the co-pilot prayed behind him.
3️⃣ Four or five minutes later, Machchar says he was suddenly struck hard on the back of his head.
4️⃣ His first thought was catastrophic aircraft damage. Then the blows kept coming. He realised it was the co-pilot attacking him.
5️⃣ The initial blows left his vision severely blurred. He tried to fight back, but says he could barely see.
6️⃣ His next sensation was the aircraft plunging sharply. His memory of these moments remains fragmented.
7️⃣ He recalls managing to open the cockpit door once, but says the co-pilot apparently shut it again.
8️⃣ Lying on the cockpit floor, he could hear the aircraft rushing through the air and passengers screaming.
9️⃣ Machchar says he realised he had “one last fight” left. His thought was brutally simple: if he didn’t act, he was going to die.
🔟 He threw everything he had into reaching and opening the cockpit door. People outside were waiting to pounce. They entered, control was regained.