Injured flydubai captain says he opened cockpit door

Captain Smit Machchhar told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he opened the cockpit door while injured during a dangerous mid-flight incident on a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, allowing passengers and crew to enter and intervene. The aircraft landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and investigations into the confrontation are continuing. During a video call on Friday, Machchhar said he was on the cockpit floor when he sensed the aircraft descending. He told Modi that, despite his injuries, he pushed himself toward the door and opened it. Passengers and crew then came into the cockpit, he said. Machchhar also said he was still being struck as he acted, and that he understood others aboard could be in danger if no one intervened. The account of the door being opened and others entering comes from Machchhar’s remarks during the call. The precise sequence of how control of the aircraft was restored has not been established in the available accounts. A passenger was separately reported to have said he pulled the control yoke to level the aircraft before two off-duty pilots took over, but that detail has not been independently confirmed here.