Four flydubai pilots were aboard Flight FZ1073 when the aircraft was thrown into chaos midair. But only two were in the cockpit.
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The other two were sitting among ordinary passengers until a violent attack on the flight deck turned them into the pilots who would help bring the Boeing 737 Max 8 safely down in Saudi Arabia.
Reuters reported that the additional flydubai pilots took control after passengers intervened and gained access to the cockpit.
The unusual situation raises a key question: why were four pilots on the same flight if only two were operating the aircraft?
The New York Times reported that airlines generally do not place a second pair of pilots in the cockpit simply as a precaution. On a relatively short flight, carrying an additional operating crew would be expensive, as airlines have to pay highly trained and highly compensated pilots even when their services are not required for that particular flight.
Instead, the other two pilots were travelling in the passenger cabin as part of a routine airline practice known as deadheading.
Pilots routinely travel on flights they are not operating when an airline needs to position them at another location for a future assignment.
flydubai confirmed that the crew members who helped secure and land the aircraft were “on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight.”
During the incident, the co-pilot attacked and stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar, leaving the captain wounded and the aircraft plunging sharply.
Reuters reported that the wounded captain, who was lying on the cockpit floor, managed to open the cockpit door during one of the dives, allowing passengers to rush in and overpower the co-pilot.
It was at this point that the two additional flydubai pilots travelling in the cabin became crucial.
After passengers gained access to the flight deck and subdued the co-pilot, the two off-duty flydubai pilots took control of the aircraft and safely landed it at Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia,
