Pilot who saved Dubai flight: "Higher power was involved"

Captain Smit Machchaar, the Indian pilot who saved a Fly Dubai flight from a deadly hijacking attack, has given his first interview and detailed what happened inside the cockpit during those moments of terror between heaven and earth.

In an exclusive interview with The National, the captain reconstructed the hours before the attack. According to him, nothing in the co-pilot's records or behavior raised suspicion. "There were casual conversations, but not deep conversation, like any other flight," he said. "There was nothing at any stage that made me think something was wrong."

But suddenly the cockpit turned into a battle zone. The captain described in harrowing detail the moments of the sudden assault: "The first thing I did was unbuckle my seatbelt, and I tried to block the blows as much as I could. The blows came directly toward the head. When the first blows came, my vision became narrow and I could only see outlines."

For long minutes, semi-conscious and bleeding, the captain fought with all his remaining strength to make contact with the cabin crew. "I was looking for the door the whole time. People ask me if I opened it, I tried to reach it. I pushed, I tried to reach out. But the next thing I remember is lying face down. And thank God, the cockpit door was open."

"My hand went to the handle that opened the door and I shouted to my colleague. That was the first time I lost consciousness. I heard the door opening," the captain added.

When asked what gave him the strength to keep fighting against all odds, the captain openly acknowledged it was an open miracle: "I wasn't sure I would come out of this alive, but I didn't give up. I thought of my son and daughter. It was like a survival instinct that kicked in, and luckily it saved me and all the other passengers and my colleagues. I would say that some higher power was involved in this."

During the interview, the captain also addressed headlines in Israeli and international media according to which Yaniv Hayoun, described in the press as "the plumber who saved the plane," was the one who took control of the stick and brought about the safe landing.

"To be honest, I don't know the story of the plumber," Machchaar said. "But I do remember the senior in the flight saying the captain is in control. I didn't see him. Can a plumber land a plane? I don't want to get into guessing. All my memories and my energy at that moment were invested in one thing only: staying alive."

Netanyahu at Ben Gurion Airport with Yaniv Hayoun

The failed suicide hijacking occurred on a flight from Dubai to Israel, when the Omani co-pilot attacked the Indian captain with an emergency axe and began diving the plane toward the ground. The wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing four Israeli passengers, Yaniv Hayoun, Dr. Shota Musayev, Zvika Manes and Asaf Rejwan, to storm in and overpower the attacker.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Captain Machehar and invited him to light a torch on Israel's Independence Day. "You are a hero for Israel, India and the entire world," Netanyahu told the Indian pilot. President Yitzchak Herzog also sent a letter of thanks to the captain and invited him to visit Yerushalayim after his recovery.

The Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates revealed that the co-pilot's radicalization process began during his studies in Australia, and that he planned to seize control of the aircraft and crash it into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport, inspired by the September 11 attacks.