Israeli dentist Shota Musaev was one of three passengers who rushed toward the cockpit aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073 as the Omani co-pilot allegedly tried to crash the aircraft. After helping overpower and restrain the suspected attacker, Musaev turned to the badly wounded captain and provided emergency medical treatment that he says helped save his life.
“I didn’t wait. I saw something was wrong and ran,” Musaev told ynet after returning to Israel.
Footage of the pilot stabbed aboard the Flydubai flight
He said the captain was in extremely serious condition when he reached him.
“The pilot was in very bad shape, with heavy bleeding from his head and hands,” Musaev said. “I was the only doctor on the plane. I managed to stop the bleeding, and the pilot was fairly stable until shortly before landing, when his condition deteriorated somewhat.”
Musaev said several passengers joined the struggle to overpower the suspected attacker.
“There were a few brave people there,” he said. “We took control of the attacker and tied him up. Of course it was difficult, but we managed.”
The injured captain remained conscious and communicated with them while lying on the floor, Musaev said.
“The pilot was talking to us while he was lying there and told us he was 39 and had two children,” he said. “The attacker stabbed him and cursed him.”
Musaev said instinct took over as soon as he heard shouting.
“At that moment you don’t think, you just act,” he said. “There were four of us who took control of the whole situation, and if we hadn’t, we wouldn’t be talking to you now.”
He said another passenger, named Yaniv, was the first to jump into action.
“I saw something wasn’t right and ran forward. I didn’t wait for anyone to call me,” Musaev said. “I came to fight the attacker when I heard the screams. I didn’t come to provide medical treatment, but after we tied him up, I treated the stabbed pilot.”
Musaev said the suspect continued struggling after being restrained.
“He was thrashing around, so we tied him several times, both his legs and his hands,” he said. “He kept struggling, so we tied him tighter. Then he calmed down and understood that he was in our hands.”
‘The plane lost altitude insanely fast, we thought we were going to die.’ Dr. Shota Musaev
Musaev said Saudi medical teams later treated the wounded captain after the aircraft landed in Tabuk.
“I understood from them that he survived and was out of danger,” he said.
The dentist also described the terror inside the cabin as the aircraft rapidly lost altitude.
“We thought we were going to die, 100%,” he said. “The plane lost an insane amount of altitude in half a minute.”
Passengers then began shouting for other pilots aboard the aircraft to get to the cockpit.
“We saw the pilots and started screaming, ‘Bring the pilots,’” Musaev said. “Then when one of them went into the cockpit and took control, we understood that we had survived.”