The diversion of a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv following a pilot brawl has raised questions about the pilot vetting process and aviation security. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said that the flight captain, who was stabbed by the co-pilot, managed to open the cockpit door. He dubbed the captain, Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, “a true hero” for preventing “a catastrophic midair disaster”.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has ordered an investigation into the incident. The investigation team would “collect information and evidence to determine the truth of the incident, its circumstances, details, and motives, and to verify the extent of its connection to any terrorist activity or purpose, or the existence of prior planning or direction for it”, the UAE’s Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said on Thursday. Saudi Arabia has yet to provide updates regarding the incident.
At this point, there are more questions than answers about the Flydubai incident. So, how was the alleged attacker allowed to fly, and what do we know about the pilot he stabbed? At about 8:44 local time, nearly two and a half hours after takeoff from Dubai, the distress call came in.
The captain and his co-pilot were allegedly engaged in fighting as the aircraft swiftly lost altitude, dropping from 33,000 feet (10,000 metres) to 17,000 feet (5,000 metres) within a minute, according to Israeli officials. Netanyahu said that one of the pilots had stabbed the other and then tried to crash the plane. A wounded Machchhar somehow managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to gain entry and overpower the alleged attacker, Israeli media reported.
The crew available on the flight were able to take control of the aircraft – and safely land it an hour later in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Both pilots were injured in the fighting and were being treated in Saudi Arabia. Very little verified information has come through so far.
After initial treatment, he was taken into custody by authorities in Saudi Arabia, but has not been charged yet. No official confirmation has come out regarding his citizenship. There is no information so far on his flying hours, qualifications or whether he had flown to Israel before on a Flydubai aeroplane, where he was reportedly employed less than a year ago.
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