flydubai crew demanded tied-up Omani co-pilot be freed, Israeli passengers claim
Israeli passengers who subdued the co-pilot accused of attacking an Indian captain aboard a flydubai flight have alleged that some crew members demanded they untie him. The passengers refused and later moved the crew away from the cockpit, according to The New York Post.
Tzvika Manes and Daniel Schlichter, who helped restrain the attacker, told the US publication that the demand sparked an argument aboard the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight.
“They were asking us to untie the terrorist; we had no idea why,” Manes said.
Schlichter said the demand made passengers suspicious of the crew, though no crew member has been accused of involvement in the attack.
Flydubai declined to comment on the crew’s conduct, citing the ongoing investigation. It said it was supporting investigators and coordinating with authorities and regulators.PASSENGERS REFUSED TO FREE CO-PILOT
Flight FZ1073 was carrying 174 passengers when the co-pilot attacked captain Smit Machchhar with the aircraft’s crash axe on Wednesday.
According to the UAE Attorney General, the Omani co-pilot then tried to take control of the aircraft. He has been identified as Hamam al-Hammami.
Despite his injuries, Machchhar opened the cockpit door, allowing Manes, Yaniv Hayoun and Asaf Rajuan to rush in and overpower the co-pilot, The New York Post reported.
The passengers said they restrained him face-down, tying his hands behind his back with zip ties and headphone wires collected by Schlichter.
Manes alleged that some crew members demanded his release, saying the passengers had no right to kill him.
“We didn’t want to kill him, we just wanted him not to kill us,” he said.
The passengers also gave the injured co-pilot an oxygen mask. “We wanted him to live so he could be investigated,” Schlichter said.
The argument escalated when crew members insisted they were in charge and wanted passengers to leave the area outside the cockpit, the two men said.
Schlichter said passengers moved the crew to seats in the fifth or sixth row and posted another passenger at the cockpit entrance. By then, reserve pilots aboard the aircraft had taken control.
They landed the plane at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. During the incident, it plunged more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds, according to Flightradar24.UAE DECLARES TERRORIST ATTACK
UAE authorities on Saturday declared the incident a terrorist attack. Investigators are examining the motives and whether it involved prior planning or direction.
The co-pilot was handed over to the UAE after Saudi authorities conducted a preliminary investigation with security teams from both countries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox on Thursday that the co-pilot had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and appeared to be suicidal.
"We'll get to the root of this attacker, whether he had accomplices, whether Iran was behind it," he added.
He also questioned how the co-pilot had been assigned to the flight, saying Israeli restrictions barred pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel. Oman has no diplomatic relations with Israel.MACHCHHAR RECOVERING IN UAE
Machchhar received initial treatment in Tabuk before being moved to the UAE the following day. He was reported to be in stable condition.
PM Narendra Modi spoke to him by video call on Friday, praising his courage and quick decisions during the attack.
“You have taken so many decisions in a fraction of a second. And you have saved the lives of so many people,” PM Modi told him, saying the entire country was proud of him.
Machchhar said he recited the Hanuman Chalisa during the attack and that it gave him strength.
UAE Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum visited Machchhar in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, praising his courage in saving passengers.
In a post on X, Hamdan conveyed the UAE leadership’s appreciation, saying the pilot had shown “the highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life”.- Ends
