What was meant to be a routine commercial flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv turned into 720 seconds of absolute horror at 34,000 feet, when an Omani co-pilot launched a lethal knife attack on the aircraft’s senior commander, attempting to hijack or crash the plane carrying 174 passengers.
The Physics of Terror: In standard flight conditions, a commercial airliner descends at 1,500 to 3,000 feet per minute. During this mid-air struggle, the plane plunged nearly 17,500 feet in just 2 minutes—a rate more than six times faster than normal, causing extreme pressure changes and near-death panic inside the cabin. He first activated Squawk 7700 (General Emergency), followed rapidly by Squawk 7500 —the international transponder code signaling an active aircraft hijacking. The activation of Squawk 7500 triggered immediate red alerts across radar screens throughout the Middle East, setting off emergency responses in the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Israel: Inside the cabin, hearing the commotion and feeling the violent descent, brave Israeli passengers and cabin crew rushed toward the cockpit door.
The tragedy was averted due to the extraordinary bravery of Indian Captain Smit, a veteran pilot with over 9,750 flying hours. Despite sustaining multiple stab wounds and being covered in blood, Captain Smit fought off the attacker long enough to trigger critical emergency alerts, buying time for off-duty pilots and passengers to step in and secure the cockpit. Without warning, the Omani co-pilot pulled out a knife and attacked Captain Smit in a bid to seize control of the aircraft. As the violent struggle ensued, the flight controls were abandoned, sending the Boeing aircraft into a terrifying dive. Bleeding heavily from his injuries, Captain Smit managed to reach the transponder controls to signal ground control. Working together, they overpowered the attacker and pulled him away from the wounded commander. An Israeli physician traveling on board immediately began emergency first aid on Captain Smit. The off-duty pilots executed an emergency landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Ground teams, fire tenders, and medical personnel immediately surrounded the aircraft upon arrival.
