Machchhar, bleeding heavily after the cockpit assault, managed to unlock the cockpit door, helping passengers and off-duty pilots intervene and save 174 people as the jet plunged over Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that the co-pilot who attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination” and intended to bring down the aircraft.
A Rs 25 lakh cash prize has also been announced for him. Patel said Machchhar had saved 174 passengers despite being badly injured and praised his courage. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel announced that the Gujarat-origin pilot will receive the Visisht Gujarat Garima Award.
Netanyahu told Fox News that the co-pilot was being questioned and that Israeli investigators had joined the inquiry. What we know so far is that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination,” Netanyahu said. He said the initial information available to Israel indicated that the man wanted to bring down the aircraft. So, it is clear that he was suicidal and was going to down the plane,” Netanyahu told Fox and Friends. Netanyahu said Machchhar was badly injured during the attack. “The pilot who was hit, bleeding profusely and fighting for his life, managed to unlock the cockpit door, but the plane was going into a nosedive,” he said.
“The attacker, the co-pilot who attacked the captain, is now being interrogated. “They had to use earphone cords to tie his hands and then used plastic cuffs. He is lying on the floor and he calls out to the crew, ‘kill me, kill me’. The story has now moved from the cockpit to Machchhar’s recovery. Prayers have also been held at Somnath for his recovery. Saudi Arabia’s National Transport Safety Center has opened a safety investigation into the emergency landing. The UAE has also ordered an investigation, as authorities work to establish the sequence inside the cockpit and the motive behind the attack.
