Two pilots from Fiji, South Africa landed flydubai plane after attack on Indian Captain Smit Machchhar

Weeks after Indian pilot Smit Machchhar fought off an attack by his Omani co-pilot on a Dubai-Tel Avivi flydubai flight, the identities of two off-duty pilots who took charge of the flight amid the chaos have been revealed.

According to a Times of Israel report, pilots Henson Steven of Fiji and Rowan Tooth of South Africa took control of the plane after Smit Machcchhar was attacked by his co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, who investigators said was trying to crash the plane.

The flydubai crew members were awarded the First Class Order of Zayed II by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan earlier this week but their identities were not known until then.

More than 170 people were aboard the flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv when Machchhar was attacked by his co-pilot with a crash axe. The chaos sent the jet plunging nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.

It was after an injured Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door that passengers and other crew members were alerted about the attack and successfully overpowered the co-pilot.

Passenger grabbed controls, pilots took over

An Israeli passenger briefly grabbed controls of the flight before the off-duty co-pilots took over. “The plane started leveling out a little more, and then the pilot told me he was taking over from there,” Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayun had said.

He had also accused the co-pilot of trying to destroy controls.

Pilots Steven and Tooth made an emergency landing of the flight in Saudi Arabia before a replacement plane took passengers to Tel Aviv, Times of Israel reported on Saturday. Steven reportedly previously worked for Fiji Airways and South African airline Airlink.

According to a Jerusalem Post report published last month, the off-duty pilots were on board to prepare for the possibility that regional airspace restrictions could force the aircraft to take a longer route.

The additional pilots were there to ensure the crew did not exceed its permitted duty hours, the report had said, citing a person familiar with the matter.