Aviation training tackles external threats; this attack came from within: Capt Smit Machchhar’s former colleague

Mumbai, Oct 5 (IANS) Former colleague of Captain Smit Machchhar, Tina Goswami, said on Monday that Machchhar showed presence of mind and quick thinking while fighting off his co-pilot.0

She said pilots and crew members are generally taught to deal with external threats as a team through crew coordination, but this was an internal threat, and he had to fight it alone.

In the aftermath of flydubai’s alleged “attempted terror attack”, which was averted following Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar’s intervention despite being attacked with an axe by his flight’s co-pilot, his former colleague Tina Goswami said that saving even one life is a major achievement.

Speaking to IANS, Goswami said: “The first reaction was that we were all scared and wondering whether everyone was safe. This was not a normal incident. It was a very serious and unusual matter because, generally, as pilots, all the training we undergo and all the emergencies we prepare for depend on teamwork and coordination among the crew.”

She added that when they first heard about the incident, they were shocked because it was not an external threat but an internal one. “Once we realised that he (Capt Smit Machchhar) saved everyone and the flight landed safely, we were very proud,” she said.

Goswami explained that when one joins an airline, one undergoes extensive training. “After that, every six months, we have simulator training, and every year we have CRM and crew coordination training, in which we are taught how to show respect.

“It is not that because you are the captain, you are above everyone else. We are also taught how to respect every individual. A co-pilot is entitled to speak if they feel that the captain is doing something wrong,” she said.

Goswami said: “As he said, he has been flying for 17 years, so he can tell even with his eyes closed. We call this the ‘feeling of flight’. Just as I have also been flying for 25 years, we can tell.

“If the aircraft is descending, climbing, its speed is decreasing or increasing, whenever the aircraft behaves unusually, even if you are asleep, even if your eyes are closed, you can still tell how the aircraft is behaving.”

“Ultimately, saving even one person’s life is a very big thing. Yesterday, we also saw an interview of his with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In it, he explained how he used his last bit of strength to try to open the door,” she said.

Goswami said this demonstrated his presence of mind. He knew that if the door was opened, he would be able to save everyone.

“He knew that, given the way he was injured and the way the aircraft was out of control, he would not be able to do anything.

“He realised very quickly that the only thing he could do was open the door, and only then could something happen,” she said.

About Capt Machchhar being called a hero, Goswami said it was well deserved because he did something of that stature.

“It was a big thing to achieve. The only thing we could see was that he was able to save 170-180 passengers, but it could have turned into something bigger, something worse,” she said.

“He was able to avert plausible geopolitical tensions. Not only for the country, but he also brought laurels to the pilot community,” she added.

–IANS

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