Depression To Losses: When Pilots Deliberately Downed Planes, Killing Hundreds

Over 170 passengers on the flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv escaped by a hair's breadth after Indian pilot Smit Machchhar showed extraordinary courage and managed to fight off his co-pilot who stabbed him and, according to Israeli officials, intended to crash the plane. 

Machchhar not only transmitted emergency signals from flight FZ 1073 but also managed to unlock the door of the cockpit, allowing passengers to come in and overpower his co-pilot. 

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Wednesday's incident is not, however, the first time a pilot has deliberately tried to down an aircraft. Several past attempts have succeeded, killing at least 500 people. 

FedEx Flight 705 (April 4, 1994)

Fearing termination from the company, an off-duty pilot, Auburn Calloway, boarded a FedEx cargo plane with weapons like a hammer and a spear hidden on his person and forced his way into the cockpit. While airborne, he attacked three crew members (captain, first officer, and flight engineer) with a hammer, intending to crash the plane so his family could claim insurance money. 

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Despite suffering severe head injuries, the other pilots fought him fiercely inside the cockpit, subdued him by performing dangerous aerial manoeuvres, and managed to execute a safe emergency landing despite their critical condition.

SilkAir Flight 185 (December 19, 1997)

While flying from Indonesia to Singapore, the captain - facing severe financial losses - deliberately switched off the flight recorders, locked the co-pilot out of the cockpit, and crashed the plane into a river at high speed, killing all 104 people on board. The finding that the captain intentionally crashed the plane is disputed but widely accepted.

EgyptAir Flight 990 (October 31, 1999)

On a flight from New York to Cairo, while the captain was out of the cockpit, relief co-pilot Gamil al-Batouti disengaged the autopilot and put the plane into a steep dive. Black box recordings captured the captain asking, "What have you done?" upon his return, but it was already too late. The plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, and all 217 people on the plane lost their lives.

Germanwings Flight 9525 (March 24, 2015)

Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz was suffering from severe clinical depression. When the captain stepped out to use the lavatory, Lubitz locked the cockpit door from the inside. The captain made desperate attempts to break down the door, but Lubitz deliberately crashed the plane into the French Alps. All 150 people on board died. 

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After the Germanwings incident, the two-in-cockpit rule was introduced to prevent such a scenario.  This requires a cabin crew member to step into the cockpit whenever one pilot steps out.