Last Wednesday an Indian pilot fought off his copilot who attempted to hijack the plane on its way from Tel Aviv to Dubai early morning. Captain Smit Machchhar said that his copilot was attempting to crash the plane with a total of 170 passengers on that very flight.
The attack began 2 and a half hours into the journey and saw the plane plunge a massive 17,000 feet during the struggle. Captain Smit was also stabbed by his copilot and was seriously injured but he managed to open the door so passengers could help him fight off his attacker.
During a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Captain Smit said “I was lying on the floor injured but I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside” which he succeeded in doing despite losing blood. Captain Smit also said he “was not going to let others die” Smit has been praised by the Indian Prime Minister whom he called a “true hero” it takes an enormous amount of courage to take on an armed person whilst flying a plane at the same time.
Thanks to the actions of Captain Smit and fellow passengers who joined the struggle the lives of almost 170 were saved.
By Nathan
Priory Ruskin