Govt to deliberate on advisory for Indian airlines after flydubai cockpit stabbing

Flydubai flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying 174 passengers, plunged 14,300ft in about 30 seconds over northern Saudi Arabia.

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The government will hold international deliberations to assess whether an advisory needs to be issued to Indian airlines following an incident in which an Indian pilot was stabbed by his co-pilot onboard a flydubai flight, civil aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said on Thursday.

“This is an unfortunate incident but the nation is very proud of the fact that Capt Smit (Machchhar), an Indian, was able to save lives... (Discussions on whether an advisory should be issued ) is under examination. We will sit and thereafter, we will discuss some security issues. We are examining this particular matter and maybe if some advisory is to be issued (to the airlines), we will put it to higher authorities for taking a decision in the matter… We will be able to answer more on the case once we have done our internal deliberations,” Sinha said.

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He added, “We would not like to delve into this (the incident in particular) because this is pertaining to some other country and it, of course, would be examined.”

Fresh fears after flydubai hijack scare

The incident involved a co-pilot of a flydubai flight enroute to Tel Aviv allegedly attempting to take control of the aircraft on Wednesday. The attempt was foiled by Indian pilot Capt Smit Machchhar, the pilot-in-command, who suffered serious injuries while trying to subdue the co-pilot.

Flydubai flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying 174 passengers, plunged 14,300ft in about 30 seconds over northern Saudi Arabia, before landing safely at Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk. Two flydubai pilots travelling as passengers took control of the aircraft after Capt Machchhar reportedly managed to open the cockpit door.

Machchhar, according to a statement by the ministry of external affairs, was moved to Abu Dhabi on Thursday after receiving initial treatment in Saudi Arabia.

It is believed that Machchhar was stabbed with a crash axe, an emergency tool usually located behind the pilot-in-command’s seat and designed to be readily accessible. “He might have gotten an axe from the equipment that might be standard on this aeroplane,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News. He added, “We’re looking into that, we can’t draw conclusions yet.”

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Officials said Capt Machchhar was stable and able to communicate on Thursday. Flydubai, however, did not provide an update on the health status of the pilots or the investigation into the incident.