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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 9:59:04 pm

Captains Courageous

There are moments when a single act of courage stands between catastrophe and survival. Captain Smit Machchhar’s actions aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073 was one such moment. The routine Wednesday flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv became a potential mass-casualty disaster. The co-pilot allegedly attacked and stabbed Captain Machchhar inside the cockpit as the Boeing 737 plunged nearly 14,000 feet in about 30 seconds. Despite being gravely wounded, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, enabling...

Captains Courageous

There are moments when a single act of courage stands between catastrophe and survival. Captain Smit Machchhar’s actions aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073 was one such moment. The routine Wednesday flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv became a potential mass-casualty disaster. The co-pilot allegedly attacked and stabbed Captain Machchhar inside the cockpit as the Boeing 737 plunged nearly 14,000 feet in about 30 seconds. Despite being gravely wounded, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, enabling passengers and crew to enter, overpower the attacker and help regain control of the aircraft. Other pilots on board subsequently helped stabilise the aircraft before it made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. All 174 people on board survived. It is difficult to overstate what Machchhar had to confront in those seconds. He was not merely dealing with an aircraft malfunction or a sudden loss of control. The danger was inside the cockpit itself, from the very person who was supposed to be helping him fly the aircraft. He had been physically attacked, was seriously injured and was simultaneously faced with an aircraft plunging thousands of feet. Yet he retained enough presence of mind to act decisively. Some early international coverage described the episode in language such as a “fight”, “clash” or “altercation.” Whether investigators ultimately classify it as terrorism, attempted hijacking or another form of deliberate criminal attack remains to be established, the incident was no ordinary “altercation between pilots.” It was a lethal attack inside an aircraft’s cockpit that resulted in a catastrophic descent and an apparent attempt to seize control of the aircraft. Such a serious incident cannot be conveyed by the word “brawl”. A brawl suggests two people losing their tempers. This incident placed 174 lives in immediate danger. The fact that the aircraft was carrying a large number of Israeli passengers, including families and children, makes the minor altercation theory ludicrous. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incident as one in which Machchhar and those who intervened prevented a disaster comparable to 9/11. Captain Machchhar’s conduct has invited comparisons with Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, whose name became synonymous with cockpit courage after landing US Airways Flight 1549 safely on the Hudson River, except the stakes in Machchhar’s case were higher. He did what a pilot is trained and expected to do in the worst imaginable circumstances: he put the lives of his passengers before his own. His training alone does not explain the extraordinary composure that is required when the person sitting beside you has attacked you and the aircraft is in a steep descent. Captain Machchhar has displayed extraordinary courage and deserves to be a household name. India can rightly salute him while the world waits for investigators to establish exactly what happened and why.

India working on logistics of Tahawwur Rana's extradition

PTI
Feb 14, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Feb 18, 2025

Tahawwur Rana

Washington: India is working on the logistics of Tahawwur Rana's surrender and extradition from the US, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has said, as President Donald Trump announced that his administration has given the go-ahead to extradite the 26/11 terror attack accused “to face justice".

“This is an issue on which the US authorities have taken very clear decisions. I think you've seen the President announce it himself from the White House podium" the decision of the US to extradite Rana, Misri said at a press conference here on Thursday.


During a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House, US President Donald Trump announced that his administration has approved the extradition of "very evil" Tahawwur Rana, wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, "to face justice in India”.


In response to a question by PTI on the timeframe by when Rana will be extradited to India, Misri said: "We are working on the logistics of his surrender and extradition to India. There are a few final steps to be completed. The two sides are in touch on this particular issue.”


The India-US joint statement issued during the Prime Minister's visit to the US notes that Modi and Trump reaffirmed that the global scourge of terrorism must be fought and terrorist safe havens eliminated from every corner of the world.

“They committed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from groups, including Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e Mohammad, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in order to prevent heinous acts like the attacks in Mumbai on 26/11 and the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan on August 26, 2021," the joint statement said.


“Recognising a shared desire to bring to justice those who would harm our citizens, the US announced that the extradition to India of Tahawwur Rana has been approved," it said.


The leaders further called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai, and Pathankot attacks and ensure that its territory is not used to carry out cross-border terrorist attacks.

"The leaders also pledged to work together to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by terrorists and non-state actors,” the joint statement added.

Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently lodged at a metropolitan detention centre in Los Angeles. He is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.

Speaking at the joint press meet, Trump said "Today I am pleased to announce that my administration has approved the extradition of one of the plotters and very evil people of the world, and having to do with the horrific Mumbai terrorist attack, to face justice in India. So, he is going back to India to face justice."


The extradition of Rana was cleared by the US Supreme Court in January as it rejected his review petition in the case.


India last month said it was working with American authorities for the early extradition of Rana.


"The US Supreme Court on January 21 declined to hear a petition from the accused. We are now working with the US side on procedural issues for early extradition to India of the accused in the Mumbai terror attack," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said.


In November 2012, Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman among the Pakistani group, was hanged to death in Yerawada Jail in Pune.

-PTI

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