Captain Samit Machshnahar fought off his co-pilot's knife attack long enough to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers to storm in and stop the hijacker's dive toward the ground.
Captain Samit Machshnahar, a veteran pilot with FlyDubai and an Indian national, is fighting for his life in hospital after a knife attack in the cockpit that nearly brought down a passenger jet with hundreds aboard, many of them Israelis.
Machshnahar was stabbed repeatedly by his Omani co-pilot late in the flight, close to Israeli airspace, according to passenger accounts. The co-pilot is believed to have used a sharp object, possibly the emergency axe stored in the cockpit for use after a crash.
Despite severe wounds and heavy bleeding, Machshnahar held off the attacker long enough to unlock the cockpit door, a move that saved the aircraft. The co-pilot had already put the plane into a steep dive in an attempt to crash it, but Machshnahar remained conscious just long enough to open the reinforced door, which is sealed and nearly impenetrable under normal circumstances. (Read More)
