flydubai incident: Dentist recalls 40-minute fight to save captain Smit Machchhar after cockpit attack

Israel-based Georgian dentist Dr Shota Musaev was among the passengers who rushed towards the cockpit of flydubai Flight FZ1073 after hearing screams during the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight.

He told ABC News how he went from passenger to emergency responder after finding Captain Smit Machchhar seriously injured and bleeding in the cockpit.

"I think, how [can] I help this situation for all [the passengers for all plane. How I can help," Dr Musaev told ABC News. "And I see one pilot on the floor, with … blood."

Dr Musaev treated Captain Machchhar for 45 minutes as the aircraft headed towards Saudi Arabia.

"There was heavy bleeding from his head and left hand. I used T-shirts to press the wounds but it [the bleeding] didn't stop so I asked the stewards for ice," he told The National.

"He had very, very deep cuts and we needed many ice packets. But every time I opened the T-shirt to check the bleeding, it would bleed more. So I pressed not very hard and with ice. All through the 45 minutes I kept the pressure on."

Crouched near the aircraft exit, he gave emergency aid and tried to keep the badly wounded captain conscious.

"I told him, 'Please don't sleep, we need you.' I asked how many children he had, their names. I kept telling him, 'Don't be afraid, you will go back to your family, we are landing soon,'" Dr Musaev said.

Captain Machchhar gave his name and age, said he lived in Dubai and was from India, and asked for help with his pain.

"He said, 'Please help me.' He said, 'My God is with me. I want to live. I don't want to die here.' Every time we spoke, he said, 'I have pain in my head; it's hurting.'"

"He was cut badly and would say, 'I'm feeling hot on my hands.' I kept telling him that he would be OK," Dr Musaev told The National.

When the captain's vital signs deteriorated, Dr Musaev raised his feet.

"At one time, his pulse was too low, so I put his feet up and the pulse came back," he said. "When I saw his lips were blue, I told the steward, 'We need to land quickly. He doesn't have much more time'."

The captain could be heard asking for painkillers in videos shared after the incident. Dr Musaev gave him small sips of water but decided against pills because of the heavy bleeding.

"He was lying on his back and I hesitated to lift him because I didn't want re-bleeding. It was dangerous to move him or give him medicines. The stewards wanted to give him medicine but I didn't agree."

He kept monitoring the captain's condition.

"If he talks, does not sleep, his pulse, the colour of lips, these were the indicators I had," he said.

Dr Musaev also helped passengers restrain the co-pilot using headphone cables.

"There were a few brave people there," he told Ynet. "We took control of the attacker and tied him up. Of course it was difficult, but we managed."

"He was thrashing around, so we tied him several times, both his legs and his hands. He kept struggling, so we tied him tighter. Then he calmed down and understood that he was in our hands."

"I came to fight the attacker when I heard the screams. I didn't come to provide medical treatment, but after we tied him up, I treated the stabbed pilot," he told Ynet.

Two standby pilots then entered the cockpit with a passenger to steady the aircraft, while a small group of passengers watched the cabin for possible further threats.

"We were at the plane exit, in front of the cockpit, and every time we scanned the area, we were worried there may be more terrorists on the plane. A small group was scanning and checking until we landed in Saudi Arabia," he was quoted as saying.

Passengers initially feared the aircraft was going down, Dr Musaev said.

"We thought we were going to die, 100%," he told Ynet. "The plane lost an insane amount of altitude in half a minute."

"We saw the pilots and started screaming, 'Bring the pilots,'" he said. "Then when one of them went into the cockpit and took control, we understood that we had survived."

Speaking to ABC News, he became emotional as he recalled how close he believed the passengers were to dying.

"Do you understand we were five to ten seconds from dying?" he said.

The aircraft diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where Captain Machchhar was handed over to doctors on the ground.

"Good luck my friend. Everything will be good," Dr Musaev recalled telling him.

He later learnt that the captain had survived and was out of danger.

"I understood from them that he survived and was out of danger," he told Ynet.

Dr Musaev said he and his wife struggled to sleep in the days after the incident.

"My wife and I sleep two hours in the night. My weight has gone down three kilograms in the last three days. The post-trauma will start now as we understand what happened to us," he told The National.

He credited the passengers and crew with helping save lives.

"Smit saved our lives. Smit is a hero and I thank him for everything he did to save my family, all the passengers. It's karma, he saved our lives and we saved his life."

"Everyone in the plane is a hero, the woman who heard something wrong in the cockpit and shouted, she is a hero, too. Everyone on this flight has hero status," the dentist said.

He said he did not consider his own actions extraordinary.

"Without medical help, Smit would not have lived because of the bleeding. But I did not do something special, I just stopped the bleeding and stabilised his pulse, that's it."

He also told ABC News: "We'll say thank you very much for all," stressing the collective effort of those on board.

Captain Machchhar was flying FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30, with 174 passengers and crew on board. The aircraft issued the emergency transponder code 7700 before diverting to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

UAE Attorney General Hamad Al Shamsi has called the incident an "attempted terrorist attack". Authorities said the co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain with a crash axe and tried to take control of the aircraft.

Despite his injuries, Captain Machchhar opened the cockpit door, allowing crew and passengers to intervene. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 landed safely in Tabuk. He was treated in Saudi Arabia and later transferred to the UAE, where he is recovering and receiving medical care.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, visited the captain in hospital. He praised the captain's "highest degrees of courage, responsibility and care for human life".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke to Captain Machchhar and praised his actions. Mr Netanyahu invited him to Israel as a guest of honour.

Indian Ambassador to the UAE Dr Deepak Mittal visited the captain and described him as a "brave son of India". The Indian Embassy said he was in good health and recovering well. The Gujarat government announced he will receive the Visisht Gujarat Garima Award.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the September 30 incident, in coordination with regional and international bodies. The circumstances of the cockpit confrontation and the actions of those involved remain under investigation.