Indian pilot Smit Machchhar revealed during a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Omani co-pilot, Hammam al-Hamami, had prayed minutes before attacking him.
"It was a normal flight," the Indian pilot recounted. "The co-pilot wanted to pray. That wasn't unusual, a lot of locals pray. While he was praying, I looked forward rather than backward out of respect. I was looking forward, and then, after four or five minutes, I received a powerful blow to the back of my head. My first thought was that something catastrophic had happened to the aircraft."
"But then the blows kept coming, one after another. And then I understood that it wasn't the plane - it was the other guy who was with me in the cockpit," the Indian captain continued. "I tried to stop him, but because of the initial blows, my vision was almost nonexistent. Everything was completely blurred. And at that point, the next thing I felt was the aircraft plunging sharply downward."
"I tried to open the cockpit door once, but I think he closed it again. And at that point, I remember lying on the cockpit floor and hearing people screaming. Then I felt I had one last fight left in me, whether for myself or for the people. I knew that if I didn't act, I would die."
"So I pushed with all my strength. I gave it everything I had. I lunged toward the door and opened it. Fortunately, people rushed inside and took over the control of the aircraft."
When Netanyahu asked Machchhar how he had managed to open the door, the pilot explained, "On the inside, the door has a mechanism that allows it to be opened by turning. From the outside, it can only be opened using a code. My colleagues outside were trying to enter the code, but the guy didn't allow them to open it using a code."
"The only way to open the door was to reach the handle and like any other handle, to simply turn it. The challenge was getting to that point. Once my hand was on the handle, I suppose I turned it and opened the door."