Speaking from a hospital in Abu Dhabi via video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, Machchhar said he realised the aircraft was descending as he lay injured on the cockpit floor, reported Al Jazeera.
“I had suffered so many injuries that I had collapsed. At that time, I could feel that the aircraft was going down. I knew this was the last push, that the door was right there,” Machchhar said in a video released on Modi’s social media channels.
***
“I was being hit even then, but I just opened the door and everyone came in,” he added.
Machchhar, who has 17 years of aviation experience, including 11 years as a captain, said his experience helped him understand what was happening despite his injuries.
He also told Modi that he had recited a Hindu devotional prayer during the incident.
“I know God himself saved me,” Machchhar said.
Modi praised the pilot’s actions and said his presence of mind had helped save lives.
Machchhar said passengers and crew then overpowered the co-pilot, allowing a second pair of Flydubai pilots to take control of the aircraft and land it in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
