"Told My Children It's Roller Coaster": Passenger On flydubai Flight Scare

It was a usual Wednesday for Almog Italie and his family flying aboard the flydubai aircraft from Dubai to Tel Aviv along with other 170 passengers. Once boarded, the first two hours were normal - flight announcements, takeoff. Suddenly, near the Jordanian border, the aircraft started to go down like a roller coaster at a very high speed for about 30 seconds, Italie told NDTV while recounting his harrowing experience. LIVE UPDATES

Italie was travelling with his wife and children.

During the sudden descent, Italie said that he told his children, 'This is a big roller coaster'.

"We were travelling back from a vacation in Japan where we had visited Universal Studios - where there are roller coasters. I told my children this was a bigger roller coaster. It was very difficult to move. It was a very, very scary experience...Initially, I thought it was turbulence, but there were no alerts," he said.

Also Read: Inside Boeing 737 Simulator: NDTV Retraces flydubai's Terrifying Seconds

Detailing what happened about the flydubai flight, Italie said, "I was sitting in the middle part of the airplane, just above the wings. I saw people rushing towards the cockpit. And so we understood that something is going on. And it's not regular, okay? It's not normal. And we were just starting to ask what is going on. And of course, all the crew members were running towards the front. And so they couldn't say anything. But after two or three minutes, one of the passengers came back and told us about the incident in the cockpit."

"It took us three or four minutes to understand that one of the pilots was stabbed and the crew member, along with a passenger, took over the cockpit. And later, a third pilot took control of the flight and was looking for a safe place to land," he said.

#Exclusive | Where Was He Sitting? What Did He See Inside The Aircraft? | Flydubai Passenger, Almog Italie Explains What Happened in an Exclusive Conversation With NDTV's @vedikas pic.twitter.com/70kEfA69Ld

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An Omani co-pilot tried to sabotage the aircraft, which was carrying over 170 passengers, and later stabbed its pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar - who was trying to prevent him from doing so. At the time, the Boeing 737, cruising at about 34,000 feet, began dropping at roughly 23,000 feet per minute before reaching about 15,600 feet. However, Machchhar fought back the co-pilot, resisted him, and opened the cockpit door so passengers and crew members could overpower him.

Passengers near the front helped move the attacker away from the cockpit. Among them was Yaniv Hayoun, who grabbed the co-pilot, choked him, and pulled him away.

In the meantime, a dentist gave life-saving help to Machchhar.

Two other relief pilots who were seated at the back took over the aircraft and diverted it to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.

"For sure it's a miracle...We had a very warm welcome in Saudi Arabia. They took care of everything, including medical staff and food. And when we were leaving Saudi Arabia, we told them that we want to come back as tourists next time," Italie told NDTV.

Also Read: Pilot, Plumber, Banker, Businessman, Dentist: 5 Heroes Of flydubai Flight

Italie further called Captain Machchhar a "global hero" and wished for his speedy recovery.

"He's a true hero. He and the other people, the other passengers that rush into the cockpit, they are a very true heroes. There is no other word to describe what they did. They are heroes," he said.

Italie also called Yaniv a "very brave man".

"I spoke with Yaniv. Apparently, he lives in my city, next to my neighborhood. He and other people, the Indian pilot...they are true heroes and they saved our lives. We thank them for everything," he said.