International
oi-Ashish Rana
The identities of two pilots who played a crucial role in bringing a FlyDubai aircraft under control during a terrifying mid-air emergency are still unknown.
Two unidentified off-duty pilots intervened during a mid-air emergency on a FlyDubai flight carrying 182 passengers, taking control after an alleged cockpit attack and stabilizing the aircraft before a safe landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
The incident happened three days ago when the Israel-bound flight, carrying 182 passengers and crew, went into a dramatic descent. Two pilots who were travelling as passengers quickly made their way to the cockpit and helped take control of the situation.
FlyDubai has not named either of the men. The airline has only confirmed that they were off-duty crew members travelling on the aircraft, without giving further details about their identities or why their names have not been released.
A passenger who was sitting close to the front of the plane has now provided a detailed account of what happened inside the aircraft. Speaking to The Associated Press, Daniel Schlichter described how the two pilots stepped forward at a critical moment and helped prevent an already dangerous situation from becoming even worse.
Passenger Describes How Pilots Took Control
“This is one of the miracles,” said Daniel Schlichter, who was seated in the second row.
“That not in every flight they bring two extra pilots. In this case, they brought them because they should have brought the plane back from Tel Aviv to Dubai, and this is the only reason they were there.”
The practice is called deadheading.
The two men responded after screaming passengers discovered what was unfolding in the cockpit. They said the copilot was attacking the captain over and over, and blood was everywhere. The captain, while badly wounded, managed to unlock the cockpit door.
After a passenger grabbed the copilot and pulled him out, and others grappled with the man to subdue him, Schlichter said that one of the traveling pilots practically hurtled the scrum to enter the cockpit and seize the controls.
“He was actually kind of jumping above the guys that were handling the terrorist, and he reached out to the pilot area and started to take over,” Schlichter said.
“And then the other guy, the other pilot, joined in and they closed the door because they didn’t want anybody else to be there.”
‘He Acted Really Like A Hero’
Schlichter, like others, wasn’t sure where the two men had come from. But whoever the first one was, he moved very quickly.
“He acted really like a hero, taking over the plane and reacted like he understood exactly what is going on, and I think we owe him our lives not less than the other heroes that went on the flight,” Schlichter said.
Once the two entered the cockpit and closed the door, Schlichter wasn’t sure who did what inside.
It took “quite a lot of minutes,” maybe 10 or more, to stabilize the plane after a descent so extreme that part of its rudder was torn away.
A mayday call was made as the men frantically sought a place to land.
Passengers Worried About The Mystery Pilots
Meanwhile, some of the frightened and wary passengers wondered about them and whether they could be trusted.
“After they managed to stabilize the airplane, actually they did not have any communication with us, and I have to tell you, I was worried about this,” Schlichter said.
He worried about an even worse situation, that the men might be “hijacking the plane into maybe Iran, or I don’t know where, because we’re actually not too far.”
But after about 45 minutes, he said, the pilots announced that they would be landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and everything was going to be OK.
With that, Schlichter said, he decided to trust them.
And it turned out to be true.
