"There Was So Much Blood, Pulse Was Low": Dentist Who Treated Smit Machchhar

Dr Shota Musaev, a Georgian dentist living in Israel, was returning from China with his wife when he noticed something unusual two and a half hours into his flydubai flight to Tel Aviv. He was among the first passengers who ran towards the cockpit after an Omani co-pilot attacked flight captain Smit Machchhar with an emergency crash axe with the apparent intent of hijacking and crashing the plane. Talking to NDTV, Musaev recalled the terrifying moments before the flight landed in Saudi Arabia. He struggled to control the blood gushing from severe stab wounds on Captain Machchhar's head and hands and said the trauma has bonded the passengers on the fateful flight for life. He said he rushed toward the cockpit the moment it became clear that something was amiss on board. "I entered the exit. It's a little [area] before the cockpit. When I came to this area, I saw Smit [Machchhar] on the floor, and the terrorist sitting on the other side. And I remember, I checked everyone, [including] Yaniv [Hayun], who had blood on them," Musaev said.