The pilot who was stabbed while trying to stop an apparent attempt by his co-pilot to crash a passenger jet Wednesday says he “could not let people die.” In a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday morning, Captain Smit Machchhar said he was on the cockpit floor, still being attacked, when he realized the plane was rapidly descending.
“I have been flying planes for 17 years and serving as a captain for the last 11 years,” Machchhar said. “I can sense exactly what is happening with the aircraft even with my eyes closed. When I was down, I could feel that the aircraft was plummeting, and I knew this is a last chance to do something.”
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He told Modi, “I was lying on the floor injured, but I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside.”
Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door while he was still being attacked, allowing passengers to rush in and subdue the co-pilot. A backup crew then regained control of the jet.
“I was, of course, fighting for my own life but at the same time I knew I was not going to let others die,” he added.
Modi praised Machchhar’s actions, saying, “The whole country can proudly say that we Indians are not people who take lives, we are people who save lives.”
Was Iran involved?
The flight, which was heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Israel, was diverted to Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. The co-pilot, identified as an Omani national, was taken into custody.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Machchhar and the passengers averted a “9/11 disaster.”
Investigators are now trying to determine the motive for the attack and whether it had any connection to terrorism. President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday the U.S. is “working on it.”
Asked whether the co-pilot as linked to Iran, Trump said, “They’re being very open with us. I would say the answer based on what I’m hearing is yes, but we’re working on it right now.”
The co-pilot has since been transferred from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates, where the investigation is continuing. Machchhar is recovering at a hospital in Abu Dhabi.
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