Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is publicly hailing an Indian pilot as a lifesaving hero after a violent cockpit struggle on a FlyDubai flight to Tel Aviv. On X Wednesday night, Netanyahu said Captain Smit Machchhar showed "extraordinary bravery" after being repeatedly stabbed by his co-pilot yet still managing to open the cockpit door, allowing crew and passengers to subdue the attacker. Netanyahu said Machchhar's actions averted "a catastrophic mid-air disaster" and saved the lives 174 people on board, including many Israeli citizens, Al Jazeera reports. "He is a true hero," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said the co-pilot was arrested after the Boeing 737 Max 8 made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The Israeli leader said the co-pilot, who has not been publicly identified, "stabbed the other pilot and apparently tried to crash the plane," the New York Times reports. India's embassy in Riyadh said Machchhar is hospitalized in Tabuk and in stable condition, pending a full medical update. FlyDubai reported that all passengers were safe and later flown on to Tel Aviv on a rescue flight, where Netanyahu personally greeted them at Ben Gurion airport.
Netanyahu said a passenger and other crew members took control of the plane. Passenger Yaniv Hayoun said that as people wrestled with the co-pilot, he grabbed the controls in a way he had seen on TV before crew members took over, the AP reports. The plane dropped from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in around a minute before it was stabilized, and aviation experts say they're amazed it didn't crash or fall apart. Experts are also surprised that it was able to land safely after most of the rudder was ripped off by the extreme descent.
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