Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar has described making “one last push” to open the cockpit door after being stabbed, allowing passengers to rush in and overpower his co-pilot.

Speaking from his hospital bed during a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the heavily bandaged captain explained how he forced himself to act despite his injuries.

“I was lying on the floor injured but I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside,” he said.

“Others came in and also played a role [in controlling the situation].

“I was of course fighting for my own life but at the same time I knew I was not going to let others die.”

The aircraft subsequently landed safely in Saudi Arabia. Modi has publicly praised Machchhar’s courage and said India was praying for his recovery. Indian Prime Minister’s Office

Machchhar said he was determined to recover.

“I am not looking at this wound like a wound because that would make my recovery even more difficult.

“I am looking at it as a journey which is slowly going on and will take time but I am confident that the recovery will be there and I will become fit and healthy again.”

Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar has described making ‘one last push’ to open the cockpit door after being stabbed, allowing passengers to rush in and overpower his co-pilot. (Israel's Foreign Ministry via AP)

‘We hired a terrorist’

Newly released footage has shown the bloodied captain of the Israel-bound Flydubai flight lying outside the cockpit, saying his co-pilot “hit me so many times”.

Captain Smit Machchhar, who is being celebrated around the world as a hero, could be heard saying he waswas unable to squeeze his hand shut as passengers and crew scrambled for help.

The video, aired by Israel’s Channel 12 and reported by The Times of Israel, captures the chaotic aftermath of the alleged cockpit attack.

“He tried to crash the plane,” one person says, while others shout “take him out” and order passengers to “sit down”.

Repeated calls for a doctor brought Israeli dentist Dr Shota Musayev rushing forward. Someone then asks in Hebrew whether another pilot is aboard and receives an affirmative response.

The footage also shows the injured alleged attacker, his uniform bloodied, surrounded by crew.

After the emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, medics attend to Machchhar outside the aircraft.

As the recording ends, an unidentified voice could be heard saying: “We’ll laugh about this one day”.

The attacker was “someone characterised by very strange behaviour, especially around religious observances that were out of step with his surroundings,” a fellow pilot told Israeli journalist, Yosef Yisrael for the nation’s Channel 16 station.

“For instance, he used to pray a lot, and would not shake hands with women,” Yisrael relayed.

The colleague then allegedly claimed Flydubai had “betrayed” Israel by hiring the pilot.

“There is no other way to put it, we hired the services of a terrorist and nearly caused the deaths of 180 people,” the co-worker reportedly told the journalist.

“Usually only Emiratis fly to Israel. It is not clear how he got on this flight.”

‘Flase flag conspiracy theories’ slammed by embassy

It came as the Israeli embassy in Canberra slammed a twisted online theory which recast those who stopped a mid-air terror plot on a recent Flydubai flight as the villains.

In a statement issued Friday morning, October 2, the embassy said the incident was a “stark reminder” of terrorism and condemned what it saw as “antisemitic ‘false flag’ conspiracy theories circulating online, which recast victims as perpetrators”.

“Israelis, Emiratis and an Indian captain stood together and refused to let terror win. We are grateful that everyone has made it to Israel safely, and we wish Captain Machchhar a full and speedy recovery,” the embassy said.

It repeated an assessment by the Israeli government that the attacker “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination and that he was very likely going to down the plane.”

“The attack targeted not only Israelis, but the peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates under the Abraham Accords, which made this direct flight possible. It confirmed that Israel and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) are victims of the same radical elements, which try to derail peace and stability,” the statement read.

“The heroism of a few prevented a catastrophe. Captain Smit Machchhar of India, though badly wounded, fought back and unlocked the cockpit door. Israeli passengers overpowered the attacker, and two off-duty pilots landed the aircraft safely. Israelis and Emiratis stood shoulder to shoulder in the face of terror, ensuring it did not prevail.

“Within hours, the Foreign Ministers of Israel and the UAE spoke and agreed to deepen their partnership. It proved a lesson everyone should hear: those who seek to destroy peace and normalisation will not determine the future of our region.”

The embassy also thanked Saudi Arabia for sheltering the passengers and enabling their onward journey.

Passengers on the Flydubai flight were eventually flown to Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel. Picture: AP Photo/Ariel Schalit

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker who stabbed his fellow co-pilot on the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination.”

The commercial liner plunged 17,000ft (5,200m) two hours into its journey on Wednesday local time before passengers and crew overpowered the attacker and retook control to land safely.

Mr Netanyahu said initial investigations suggested it was “very likely” the attacker, who he said was an Omani national, was “going to down the plane.”

The Israeli leader said the attacker, once subdued, yelled “kill me, kill me” to crew, making it “clear he was suicidal”.

“And with all the passengers in there, and if you couple that with what I just told you about the Islamist tendencies, that radicalisation that were found in his background, I think... that’ll give us a pretty good clue.”

Mr Netanyahu stressed he did not want to draw any firm conclusions on a motive until investigations were completed.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) state news agency said internal probes are yet to determine if the incident was linked to any terrorist activity or purpose, according to the BBC.

UAE officials have claimed jurisdiction over the incident because the plane is registered there and flies under its flag.

Indian Capt. Smit Machchhar has been hailed a ‘hero’. Picture: Israel's Foreign Ministry via AP

The Interior Ministry of Saudi Arabia - where the plane made an emergency landing - said both the pilot and co-pilot have been sent back to the UAE on Thursday morning after medical teams cleared them.

US President Donald Trump and UAE officials have suggested Iran may be responsible for the incident but did not definitively blame Tehran.

Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday Iran would be “hit very hard” if it was found to have been involved in the attack.

Mr Netanyahu earlier credited the Flydubai pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, as well as passengers, with averting catastrophe, after a co-pilot allegedly stabbed him and tried to crash the plane.

Passengers described rushing the cockpit and a fight for control after the plane suddenly plummeted, losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website.

Israeli officials called the incident “an attempted terrorist attack”, though in an earlier interview with CBS News, Mr Netanyahu had not ruled out the possibility that mental health was to blame.

Mr Netanyahu told Fox News that a disaster similar to the September 11, 2001 attacks “with bodies scattered in the desert” had been averted.

‘We have constraints’

The Israeli PM said he expected the UAE to take the lead in the investigation, but that Israel would join the probe.

Yaniv Hayun was one of the men who helped incapacitate the attacker. Picture: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

He said Israel would look at how the Omani pilot was able to work on a flight to the country.

“We have constraints that say that you can’t have pilots from countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with Israel. Obviously he was able to go through that. How do we make sure that we screen pilots in advance?” Mr Netanyahu told Fox News.

He said the pilots who collected passengers from Saudi Arabia after the incident had undergone background checks.

Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, called it a “jihadist” attack, while defence minister Israel Katz also described the incident as “an attempted jihadist terror attack”.

Airline flydubai has said all the passengers - of whom 166 out of 174 were Israeli, according to media reports - were safe, but that the reasons for the altercation were unknown.

“During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board,” Mr Netanyahu said in a video message.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) met with Mr Hayoun. Picture: Kobi Gideon, GPO

He later hailed the wounded pilot, Mr Machchhar, “for his extraordinary bravery”.

The Indian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates met with the wounded captain, with the embassy saying he was in “good health and recovering well”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as a “HERO”, saying his valour helped save lives.

Flydubai has since suspended flights between Dubai and Tel Aviv as it carried out its own investigation into the incident.

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Wounded Flydubai captain describes opening cockpit door to let passengers stop attack