Smit Machchhar Foils Cockpit Attack

Capt. Smit Machchhar said he opened the cockpit door while badly wounded, allowing passengers and pilots to restrain a Flydubai co-pilot who allegedly stabbed him on a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight. The aircraft began a steep descent before crews regained control and diverted it to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The case has raised a hard security question because the alleged attacker was a crew member, not a passenger. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said investigators believe the man had Islamist radical indoctrination and was suicidal, but his motive has not been publicly established. Machchhar told Prime Minister Narendra Modi he could not let passengers die. The Omani suspect remains under interrogation in Saudi Arabia.