Washington DC : United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin has stated that there are "no credible threats" directed at the United States following the mid-air attack aboard an Israel-bound Flydubai flight, adding that aviation security officials are reviewing existing safety protocols, Fox News reported.
Reassuring the public in the wake of the cockpit stabbing, Secretary Mullin emphasised that the US takes such incidents very seriously. "We have no credible threats to us right now. We take every incident like this very serious, and we continue to look at the procedures, that we have in place and continue to make sure the American people are safe," Mullin said on Wednesday (local time), as reported by Fox News.
The statement comes as a mid-air catastrophe was averted aboard an Israel-bound Flydubai flight when its Dubai-based Indian Captain Smit Machchhar, despite being stabbed by his co-pilot who allegedly tried to crash the aircraft, managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers and a relief crew to overpower the attacker and safely land the plane in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, a passenger aboard the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight recounted moments of sheer panic when the aircraft plunged sharply during the confrontation on the flight deck, CBS News reported. "Suddenly the airplane dropped, massive turbulence for 20, 30 seconds, and then balanced, and then once again dropped for ten seconds, and balanced again, and then we saw that, in the front of the aircraft there was a riot," passenger Almog Italie said in his video, CBS News reported.
Citing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, CBS News added that “after the stabbing incident, passengers held the co-pilot down while another pilot on board landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.” CBS News further reported that a statement from Flydubai acknowledged the incident, stating that "an altercation occurred in the flight deck" and that the aircraft "was successfully secured by on-duty FlyDubai crew traveling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely."
The passengers were subsequently flown to Tel Aviv via another aircraft. Meanwhile, the Embassy of India in France has paid tribute to Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary courage aboard the flydubai Flight.
In a post on X, stating, "Tribute to the Indian pilot, Commander Smit Machchhar, for his extraordinary courage. Although stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, opened the cockpit door, and helped the passengers and crew subdue the attacker, thereby preventing a catastrophe in mid-flight and saving 174 lives. We all pray for his speedy recovery."
Meanwhile, Flydubai passenger Yaniv Hayoun met Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and recounted his attempt to enter the cockpit. He said he and other passengers intervened to stop the alleged attacker, describing how he put the man in a chokehold, pulled him out of the cockpit, and then returned to take control of the aircraft, CNN reported.Netanyahu hailed Hayoun as a "true hero", and in a post on X wrote, "Yoniv, you're a true hero. We're a nation of lions!"
Captain Machchhar is a seasoned pilot who currently flies as a direct-entry Captain with UAE-based carrier Flydubai. A veteran in the cockpit, Captain Machchhar brings over 13 years of commercial aviation experience, with an impressive log of 9,750 total flying hours, predominantly operating Boeing 737 (B737) aircraft.
Prior to joining Flydubai, he had a distinguished 11-year tenure with an Indian airline, SpiceJet, where he served as a Line Training Captain. Meanwhile, Flydubai will temporarily suspend flights to and from Israel as an investigation into Wednesday’s mid-air incident is underway, an airline spokesperson said, CNN reported.