Flydubai captain describes blocking axe blows and calling for help

The captain of a flydubai flight has described trying to block axe blows to his head during an attack by a co-pilot. He said he screamed for help while reaching to open the cockpit door.

Speaking from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi with his head and left arm bandaged, Machchhar said he initially thought the first blow meant something had gone wrong with the aircraft's structure. He then realised he was being attacked.

Machchhar said his arm was wounded as he defended himself against blows directed at his head. He recalled reaching for the knob that opens the cockpit door and screaming for his colleagues. He said he believed that was when he first lost consciousness.

The aircraft plunged 16,000 feet in 30 seconds before the attacker was overwhelmed. Two other pilots aboard landed it safely in Saudi Arabia. The suspect, an Omani national, was subsequently transferred to the UAE, where flydubai is based.

The United Arab Emirates' top prosecutor said Friday that the co-pilot who attacked the captain of FlyDubai flight 1073 had planned to crash the aircraft into Tel Aviv's international airport in a suicide attack. The Israel-bound flight carried 182 people and made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The unnamed Omani co-pilot is in custody in the UAE. The prosecutor's findings said he had drawn inspiration from al Qaeda's September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and intended to cause the greatest possible loss of life.

The prosecutor said the flight was the co-pilot's third trip to Tel Aviv and that he had used the two earlier journeys to plan the attack.

The prosecutor's findings said the co-pilot had met the professional and security requirements for employment, including having a pilot's licence, supplying a certificate of good conduct and completing the required checks.

The findings also said none of those procedures had revealed indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot.

UAE prosecutor says FlyDubai co-pilot planned to crash into Tel Aviv airport

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