New Delhi [India], October 1 (ANI): Expressing immense admiration for the extraordinary valour displayed during a terrifying mid-air incident aboard an Israel-bound flight following a violent mid-air cockpit attack, Israel’s Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, has hailed the heroic intervention of Captain Smit Machchhar, stating that the pilot had demonstrated extreme courage in the face of severe odds..
Speaking to ANI, Ambassador Azar shared his initial reaction to the harrowing event, stating, “We’ve seen that, thanks to the amazing bravery, courage and resolve of Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot, 180 passengers were saved. He, despite the fact that he was stabbed by his co-pilot, he’s been able to open the door of the cabin, and that allowed the bravery of others, the the passengers, three Israeli passengers that penetrated the cabin, neutralized the attacker, and then afterwards, called both the doctor that took care of Captain Machar, and the crew that came and took over the flight. There were two pilots, additional pilots that were sitting with the passenger, at the plane. So, thanks to the combination of the actions, the united action of both the captain, the crew members, and the passengers, this flight was saved.”
The Israeli envoy said that the actions of Capt Machchhar prevented a repeat of 9/11 when hijackers were able to take control of the plane and fly it into the World Trade Towers in New York.
“I think that another 9/11 could have happened. Whether this attacker would have been able to take control of the flight, and thanks to the combination of the action, the activity, the the resolve of the Indian pilot that deserves praise and was praised, and will be praised even more, we now have a different situation. The passengers are safe. We had our health teams there at the airport to make sure that everybody, everybody is okay. We heard testimonies of the Israelis on the flight, and I think that everybody now is safe and sound,” he said.
The attempted attack on the flight comes at restive moment in the middle east with the Iran conflict and elections in Israel. Israel has called for increased intelligence sharing so that such situations can be avoided.
“This attack happened at a crucial moment, a very sensitive moment in the region, where in Israel we are going to have elections, where only few days back Prime Minister Netanyahu visited the UAE and consulted, according to reports, with leaders of the region. Each time that you have intensification of cooperation of countries in the region that are interested in prosperity, in fighting terrorism, you have terrorists that are trying to challenge that, like unfortunately happened in the terrible massacre of the 7th of October. Since Abraham Accords have been signed, we have more and more communication and cooperation between intelligence agencies in our region, between security agencies, civil aviation authorities. And I’m sure that all the information that is going to come out, both of the investigation of the attacker, the black box of the plane, all these things are going to be hopefully shared, so we can draw the conclusions, understand what happened and try to prevent such events in the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said the attacking pilot was being investigated in Saudi Arabia and could be taken to the UAE, adding that Israel would follow the investigation and could potentially participate in it. Israel’s envoy says that agencies will also follow on protocols for a situation like this
“I’m sure that the professional agencies are going to take another look at the protocols. Many of these protocols were actually activated as a result of the hijack alert that was sent by the pilot, and these strict protocols are going to have to be revised so we make sure that not only we can prevent in the future such incidents, but if they happen, to deal with them as diligently as possible,” he said.
Captain Smit Machchhar is a seasoned pilot with more than 13 years of commercial aviation experience and around 9,750 total flying hours, predominantly operating Boeing 737 aircraft. Before joining Flydubai, he spent 11 years with SpiceJet, where he served as a Line Training Captain.
Meanwhile, Flydubai has temporarily suspended flights to and from Israel as an investigation into Wednesday’s mid-air incident is underway, according to the airline. (ANI)
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