An injured Flydubai pilot has recounted how he managed to open the cockpit door after being stabbed by his co-pilot, enabling passengers to enter and help restrain the attacker during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

Captain Smit Machchhar said he was lying injured on the cockpit floor when he realised that the aircraft, carrying more than 170 passengers, was rapidly losing altitude and that he needed to regain control of the situation.

Speaking during a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Machchhar said he made one final attempt to open the cockpit door from inside despite his injuries.

He said passengers subsequently entered the cockpit and helped overpower the attacker.

Machchhar said that while he was fighting to survive, he was also conscious of the need to protect the other people aboard the aircraft.

Flydubai flight FZ1073 plunged more than 17,000 feet about two and a half hours after departing Dubai on Wednesday.

The aircraft initially transmitted an emergency signal to air traffic controllers before switching to squawk code 7500, the international code used to indicate a hijacking.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said one pilot had stabbed the other before apparently attempting to crash the aircraft.

After the passengers subdued the attacker, two reserve pilots who were travelling on the aircraft took control and landed the plane safely at Tabuk Airport in north-western Saudi Arabia at 6:58 a.m. local time.

Machchhar was initially treated at a hospital in Tabuk before being airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where he was reported to be in stable condition.

Netanyahu described Machchhar as a “true hero” and said the attacker was an Omani national. He also claimed that investigations had indicated the suspect had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination.

The UAE has launched an investigation into whether the incident was connected to terrorism, according to the country’s state news agency.

Machchhar, who has received praise from Indian officials and members of the public, told Modi that he had been flying aircraft for 17 years and could recognise problems with an aircraft even under difficult circumstances.

Modi praised the pilot’s courage and quick decision-making, saying his actions had helped save the lives of passengers.

The Indian Embassy in the UAE said Machchhar was recovering well, while India’s ambassador to the UAE, Deepak Mittal, also commended him after visiting him.

Speaking about his injuries, Machchhar said he remained focused on his recovery and viewed the experience as a gradual process rather than allowing the wounds to become a psychological setback.