Pilot recounts cockpit attack on flight bound for Israel

Captain Smit Machchhar told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he was repeatedly struck by his copilot during a flight bound for Israel and eventually opened the cockpit door from inside, allowing colleagues outside to take control. The detailed account was given during a telephone conversation, and the reports do not include independent evidence establishing the precise sequence or the copilot’s intent. Machchhar said the flight had begun normally and that his copilot had asked to pray. He said he looked toward the front of the cockpit while the copilot prayed. About four or five minutes later, he felt a blow to the back of his head. At first, he thought the aircraft had suffered serious damage, he told Netanyahu, but repeated blows led him to realize, in his account, that the copilot was attacking him. Machchhar said he tried to stop the copilot, but his vision became blurred. He recalled feeling the aircraft descend sharply, lying on the cockpit floor and hearing passengers scream. He also said his memory of the episode was incomplete. He believed he had managed to open the cockpit door once, but that it was shut again.