A terrifying flight hijack attempt was meant to end in total tragedy but instead it resulted in a truly miraculous survival. The rescued passengers are now safely back home and they cannot stop praising God for saving their lives.
FlyDubai flight FZ1073 took off early in the morning from Dubai heading straight to Tel Aviv. The Boeing 737 was carrying about 180 people on board including 166 Israeli citizens who were just expecting a normal trip.
For the first couple of hours everything was completely fine. But about two hours and 15 minutes into the journey around 8:20 am the terrifying ordeal suddenly started.
Inside the cockpit the Omani co-pilot launched a violent attack against the main pilot Captain Smit Machchhar. The attacker used a knife to stab the Indian captain in what officials say was a deliberate attempt to hijack and crash the plane.
As the two men fought for control the aircraft went into a terrifying dive and lost 17,400 feet of altitude in just under two minutes.
Even though he was severely wounded and bleeding heavily Captain Machchhar did everything he could to save his passengers. He fought back against his attacker and used his remaining strength to unlock the cockpit door. That single act of heroism changed everything.
Hero passengers sitting near the front heard the screams for help and saw a woman look inside the cockpit and panic at all the blood. They immediately rushed the cockpit to overpower the attacker.
Passengers realized there were two off-duty relief pilots sitting in the back of the plane and alerted them to take control of the aircraft. While the relief pilots pulled the plane out of its steep dive, an Israeli dentist on board stepped in to give the badly bleeding Captain Machchhar crucial first aid.
The off-duty pilots managed to stabilize the jet and they made an emergency landing at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. After waiting for hours, a rescue flight finally brought everyone home safely.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement praising the incredible actions that stopped a disaster. He said the attacker intended to crash the plane but Captain Machchhar showed extraordinary bravery.
Netanyahu noted “Despite being stabbed and seriously injured he fought back resisted opened the cockpit door and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker”. He called the captain a hero who saved 174 lives.
When the passengers finally arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel, they couldn’t stop praising God. They were completely clear that their survival was an absolute miracle.
Many expressed their gratitude to God by singing traditional Hebrew songs like “Ve’she’amda” and “The Holy One, blessed be He, always loves me.”
Passenger Lital Shachaf spoke for many when she said “I just can say that it was a miracle. It was awful crazy and we thank God that we survived it”.
We truly witnessed God’s hand at work in the sky that day. In aviation a sudden drop of 17,400 feet in under two minutes almost always means a plane would just crash straight into the ground and nobody would survive. He strengthened that injured pilot enough to open the cockpit doors, He guided the passengers to do the right thing in such a panic situation and He saved all the passengers through those two off-duty pilots.
As we read in the Scripture about how God protected Israel back in those days, His hands are clearly still with His nation today. Praise God for this incredible miracle.
“Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:4 NKJV
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