Flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar has detailed how he survived a mid-air crash axe assault by his first officer during a flight carrying 172 passengers to Tel Aviv, while questioning claims that an Israeli plumber took over the controls to save the aircraft.

Speaking from his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi, the Indian aviator described the moments of violence inside the flight deck when first officer Hamad al-Hammami launched a surprise assault. Emirati prosecutors have since classified the incident as a premeditated terrorist plot intended to deliberately down the passenger plane. Prior to the attack, al-Hammami had sat beside Machchhar for over two hours without exhibiting any abnormal behavior or alerting indicators.

A Sudden Cockpit Ambush at Cruising Altitude

The sudden strike caught Machchhar completely off guard while navigating the scheduled passenger route. Machchhar explained that the initial impact felt as though a catastrophic mechanical failure had sheared through the aircraft overhead, driving him down against the control yoke.

"The first time when I was hit...my thought was something’s gone horribly wrong with the aircraft structure, which has fallen on my head," Machchhar said. "It almost made me fall on my control column. In the next couple of seconds, when the hits kept on coming, [I realised] it’s the other person who I thought was supposed to be on the team."

Despite sustaining severe blows from the onboard emergency crash axe, Machchhar fought to release his safety harness and reach the door lock mechanism. After several frantic attempts, he managed to unlatch the reinforced cockpit door and shout an alert to the cabin crew before losing consciousness and collapsing face down.

The Mystery of the Flying Plumber

Following the plane’s emergency diversion, an extraordinary narrative swept global headlines. Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayoun, a plumber by trade, publicly asserted that he had forced his way into the flight deck, physically overpowered the attacker, and stabilized the airliner. Hayoun subsequently told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he had gleaned the necessary aeronautical knowledge simply by watching episodes of the television documentary series National Geographic’s Air Crash Investigation.

When questioned about Hayoun’s dramatic claims of piloting the multi-ton commercial jetliner, Machchhar responded with clear skepticism regarding the mechanics of civilian aviation.

"Can a plumber land an aircraft? I don’t want to get into the guesswork here, but at the same time to answer your question, my recollection and my energy at that point were just to keep myself alive."

Machchhar explained that while he was fading in and out of consciousness amid intense chaos in the forward galley, his recollection centered on professional airline crew members taking decisive charge. According to the captain, passengers hauled him out of the cockpit before senior cabin crew administered emergency first aid. Control of the aircraft was formally assumed by a pair of off-duty Flydubai pilots who happened to be traveling aboard the aircraft as passengers.

Safe Diversion and Recovery

The hijacked airliner was diverted safely to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where Saudi security forces boarded the aircraft and took the Omani first officer into custody. Flight crew and passengers received immediate medical attention on the tarmac.

Machchhar was initially stabilized at a hospital in Saudi Arabia before being air-transferred to Abu Dhabi for specialized treatment. The Indian Embassy confirmed in an official update on October 6 that the captain was making steady progress and regaining his health after multiple surgeries.

The incident has sparked widespread debate across aviation safety circles regarding flight deck tool placement and the procedures governing cockpit axes, which are mandated emergency equipment on commercial airliners. Aviation authorities continue their investigation into how the first officer planned the assault undetected, while international observers remain captivated by the stark contrast between standard airline protocols and viral survival lore.