flydubai captain describes moment plane was struck

· Security · United Arab Emirates

flydubai captain Smit Machchhar described the 'traumatic' experience of an attack on his aircraft, telling Sky News Arabia in his first interview since the incident that 'blows kept coming' and he felt the plane going down. 'You can't die like this,' he recalled thinking during the struggle in the cockpit. The interview offers the first detailed account from the flight deck of an attack that raised questions about aviation security in the region.

Why it matters:First-hand accounts of an in-flight attack highlight the exposure of commercial aviation to security threats in a region central to global air traffic.

Key points

  • Machchhar said the 'blows kept coming'.
  • He believed the aircraft was going down during the struggle.
  • It was his first interview since the incident.

Sources (original reporting)

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