Society News

Stabbed in the cockpit, the flydubai captain opened the door: how outlets told the rescue

A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, September 30, after its co-pilot stabbed the captain and sent the jet into a steep dive. The Guardian said the captain, Smit Machchhar from Mumbai, managed to release the cockpit door while lying injured on the floor, letting passengers and crew in to overpower the attacker. A second pair of flydubai pilots on board then landed the plane, which carried 174 people.

On Friday, Machchhar described the attack in a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Al Jazeera reported.

“I knew this was the last push, that the door was right there.” — Smit Machchhar, via Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera said UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash called it a “terrorist act”, and that US President Donald Trump warned Iran would be “hit very hard” if it was found to be linked. The Korea Herald, carrying a Reuters report, said the passengers reached Tel Aviv more than 10 hours later on a replacement aircraft. India's ThePrint reported, citing the Indian embassy, that Machchhar was stable in a Saudi hospital.

How each outlet framed it

• The Guardian — the people who saved the plane: the captain, a plumber and a dentist.
• Al Jazeera — a minute-by-minute reconstruction from flight data, plus the captain's call with Modi.
• The Korea Herald — the Israeli officials' account and the passengers' arrival home.
• ThePrint — the Indian angle: the captain's condition, via the embassy.

Where the numbers differ: The Guardian and The Korea Herald, citing Israeli officials, said the jet plunged nearly 14,000ft (about 4.3km) in under 30 seconds. Al Jazeera, using Flightradar24 data, described a fall of about 17,000ft in around two minutes.