Mother on board Flydubai flight didn't know which one of her four children to hug first as she relives terror: 'I told them we were in God's hands'

A mother aboard the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv has revealed she didn't know which of her children to say goodbye to first as she told them their fate was 'in God's hands'. 

Lital Hirschl-Shahar, 39, said she 'saw death coming' on Wednesday's Flydubai flight FZ1073 as it plummeted 14,000ft in 29 seconds during the attempted hijack.

Hero captain Smit Machchhar managed to fight off Hamam Al Hammami and, crucially, open the cockpit door after being struck to the back of the head with an axe by his 'jihadist' co-pilot.

Moments earlier, he had respectfully turned away from Al Hammami, believing his colleague was praying rather than preparing to strike him. But a woman spotted the attack while going to the loo, causing her to sprint down the plane screaming: 'He's stabbing the pilot.' 

Four Israeli men, Ms Hirschl-Shahar recounts, then ran to the front of the plane – and to the aid of Mr Machchhar – as their children screamed: 'Father, no! Come back.' 

The plane then plunged and rocked from side to side as the men wrestled axe-wielding Al Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani national, to the ground. They eventually managed to restrain him and miraculously regain control of the plane. Mr Machchhar's heroics later earned him a guest-of-honour invitation to Israel from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

'We saw death coming. We couldn't breathe. My oldest of four daughters looked at me and said, "Mum, you are all grey". I felt like I had no blood in my face and head anymore,'  Ms Hirschl-Shahar, who was sat on the tenth row, tells the Daily Mail in an exclusive interview. 

'But as a mum, I didn't care about myself. I was just worried about my four souls that were with me there. "What can I do? Who should I hold first? Whose hand to hold first? Who should I hug? How do I do that?" 

'I tried to stay calm for my girls, but the screams were ones you can never forget. I was sat in the middle, next to my five-year-old. I didn't want them to be panicked, I just told them we are in God's hands. And especially now, we just need to pray.'

Lital Hirschl-Shahar pictured with her four daughters while on holiday in Singapore

Ms Hirschl-Shahar (pictured in Singapore) revealed the agonising moment she was forced to choose which of her children to say goodbye to first 

The suspected attacker has been identified as Hamam Al Hammami, an Omani national

It has since emerged the axeman Al Hammami was previously banned from flying over concerns of extreme views after it was revealed he spent time in ISIS-controlled Syria. He had also studied at Buckinghamshire New University.

Investigators in the United Arab Emirates, which is leading the investigation, said the co-pilot planned the 'terrorist act' by attacking Mr Machchhar with the weapon. 

Airlines are generally required to carry crash axes in the cockpit that could be used in an emergency to break open a window or break open a panel to access a fire. The axes are generally stored in the cockpits where the crew can reach them, but they aren't accessible to passengers.

Israel's defence minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday the 'attempted jihadist terror attack' was 'thwarted only thanks to the heroism of several Israeli passengers'. 

It is for this reason Ms Hirschl-Shahar, whose husband was flying back on a separate flight from the family holiday in Singapore, believes her family's lives were saved. 'We are Israelis, so unfortunately, we know how to immediately respond to these situations,' she said.

'We understood we have a terrorist on our flight, and so they fought, caught and handcuffed him. And luckily the flight had so many miracles, like having the pilots on board and the pilot's last push in opening the door. Otherwise, we would have crashed.'

Mr Machchhar was praised for saving the lives of those 174 passengers on board, which included four Americans, and preventing the believed suicide mission.   

Mr Netanyahu is among the masses, and has invited the Indian national to visit the Jewish State as guest of honour in May, alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The pair are invited to light a flame at a national ceremony for Israel's Independence Day, normally reserved for Israelis. 

'You are a true hero of the brave peoples of India and Israel and you are a hero of the entire world,' Mr Netanyahu said in a video his office released of his telephone conversation with the captain. 

The co-pilot (pictured) is understood to have used the cockpit's crash axe in his attempt to take control of the Flydubai plane in the 'terrorist attack' 

Graphic footage filmed by passengers on the flight shows the wounded pilot Smit Machchhar lying on the floor as others tend to him

Asked how the attack unfolded, Mr Machchhar said the co-pilot had asked to take time to pray, as devout Muslims do five times a day. 'A lot of locals, they do pray, which is not out of the ordinary. While he was praying, out of respect, I was just looking at the front and not at the back,' the captain said. 

'Suddenly after I think I would say about four to five minutes, there was a big blow to the back of my head. My first thought was that there was catastrophic damage to the aircraft and something is not right. 

'But then after that the blows kept coming one after the other. That's when I realised that it's not the aircraft, it's the other guy who was in the cockpit with me.' 

While saying his memory was not entirely clear due to his injury, Mr Machchhar said he managed to pull open the cockpit door 'but I think he shut it back closed'. 

'I had that one last fight left in me,' Mr Machchhar explained, saying he knew he faced certain death if not. 'That's when I pushed against everything. I gave everything that I had and just went for the door and opened the door and thankfully people were waiting.'

Distressing footage showed Mr Machchhar lying on the ground covered in blood as passengers tended to his injuries, while Al Hammami is seen seemingly lying nearby unconscious. Passengers can be heard telling one of the men: 'You saved the plane.' 

In his first public comments on the incident, flydubai Chief Executive Ghaith al Ghaith on Friday said that the flight diverted after a 'safety incident' inside the cockpit.

Smit Machchhar has been hailed a hero for saving the lives of the 174 passengers on board

Passengers file out of the rear of the plane, which appeared to show a section of the rudder missing, after it landed in Saudi Arabia

The flight, carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk in north-western Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing.

It transmitted a general emergency signal using a squawk code – four-digit numbers used for in-flight communication – of 7700 while making a U-turn over the border between the two countries.

While flying over Saudi Arabia, it briefly issued a code of 7500, signalling unlawful interference or a hijacking. Officials feared the incident could have become another 'September 11' attack, adding that passengers had prevented an 'Israeli 9/11' by tying up the assailant.

A person who heard the crew's mayday call with air traffic control described the plane being turned away by Saudi Arabia and Jordan before eventually landing in the major city located in the north-west of the kingdom.

The person, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the pilot's voice was trembling as he called 'mayday' and said a hijacking was taking place and ambulances would be needed.

But Saudi Arabia initially denied clearance to land and directed him to Jordan. The plane was told to wait for clearance from the Jordanian military and then turned away.

The pilot then returned to Saudi Arabia and said he had to land in Tabuk. The air traffic control operators gave no reason for the earlier refusals.

Given the lack of diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Ms Hirschl-Shahar describes how her concerns about landing in the Kingdom were proven wrong. 

'We landed in Saudi Arabia. But I have to say that they were amazing to us. We were scared but they welcomed us. No Israelis have landed in Saudi Arabia before that day,' she says.

'We don't have relationship with them, unfortunately. With all the politics going on, so we didn't know how it will be now. One radical Muslim already tried to crush us and kill us just because we are Jewish. 

'It's unbelievable, and now we are landing in another Muslim country, and you don't know how they will treat you there. But they were amazing, really. We're in gratitude to them.' 

When asked if there was a message she wanted to share, the mother said: 'Stop chasing the Jews.' 

Ms Hirschl-Shahar describes her family as suffering a 'big trauma' from the event, with the aftershocks still being felt. 

READ MORE: British-educated Flydubai terrorist was found with Al Qaeda propaganda and plans to target Israeli planes three years ago - but was still allowed to fly