'Kill me, kill me': Passengers tell Netanyahu what Omani pilot said after they pinned him down

Netanyahu met the passengers who subdued the copilot after he stabbed Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot accompanying him in the cockpit.

The Omani copilot who allegedly tried to crash a flydubai flight told passengers to kill him after he was restrained mid-flight, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu was told in an interaction with four of those aboard.

Passengers from an earlier diverted flydubai flight are seen after landing at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in Lod. (AFP)

Netanyahu met the passengers who subdued the copilot after he stabbed Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot accompanying him in the cockpit. As recounted by some passengers before, it was after Machchhar opened the cockpit door that others overpowered and restrained the Omani copilot, who remains unidentified.

"We tied the stabbing pilot with the headphone cable. He was saying 'Kill me' – meaning that he failed at his mission and prefers to die," one passenger told the Israeli prime minister, according to Jerusalem Post report.

Deep Dive

What led the Omani co-pilot to attempt to crash the flydubai flight?

How did the passengers manage to overpower the co-pilot during the incident?

What actions did Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu take following the flydubai incident?

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In a live broadcast, aired by Fox News, Netanyahu also recalled a similar passenger account and claimed that the pilot behind the attack was "suicidal". Narrating the sequence of events after the passengers overpowered the Omani pilot, the Israeli PM said: “The attacker is lying there now and he calls out to the air crew ”Kill me, kill me", so it is clear he was suicidal and it was very likely he was going to down the plane."

Netanyahu urges Israelis to be vigilant

The Israeli PM interacted with Yaniv Hayoun, Or Pardilov, Dr Shota Musayev, and Sigalit Musayev -- four passengers involved in pinning down the stabbing pilot on the Dubai-Tel Aviv flydubai plane.

In a video shared by Netanyahu's office, he could reportedly be heard advising Israelis to learn from the passengers and stay vigilant, especially with the country heading to elections soon.

"I urge the citizens of Israel to learn from you, to keep their eyes open and be vigilant. We are in a very sensitive time. There is an intent of our enemies to harm us," Netanyahu said.

He earlier said that the Omani pilot was “radicalised”, adding that a “loophole” in screening had allowed him to fly the aircraft to Tel Aviv.

How a Canadian documentary helped passenger

Chaos and tensions erupted on the flydubai plane on Tuesday after it plunged about 14,000 feet in a matter of 30 seconds. Amid the ruckus and passengers' struggle to overpower the Omani pilot, Yaniv Hayun entered the cockpit as the flight began to tilt, grabbed the controls, started pulling at them.

He added that he knew what to do in such a situation thanks to a Canadian documentary called “Mayday.” Mayday is a Canadian documentary programme which examines air crashes, hijacking, bombings and other aviation related incidents.