The pilot stabbed by his co-pilot on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv has described how he forced open the cockpit door to let passengers help, saying he was determined not to let anyone else die.
Captain Smit Machchhar, speaking to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video call from hospital, said he was on the floor and still being attacked when he realised the aircraft was descending.
"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. I was of course fighting for my own life but at the same time I knew I was not going to let others die."
Flydubai flight FZ1073, bound for Tel Aviv early on Wednesday morning, plunged more than 17,000 feet (5,200 metres) two and a half hours into its journey. It sent an emergency signal before switching to code squawk 7500, indicating hijacking.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot had stabbed the other before "apparently trying to crash" the plane. After passengers overpowered the attacker, two reserve pilots safely landed the aircraft at Tabuk Airport in north-western Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu told Fox News the attacker was an Omani national and said investigations suggested he had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination". He said the attacker, once subdued, was "calling out to the aircrew 'kill me, kill me'", making clear he was suicidal.
A separate report states the attack suspect had previously been banned from flying by Oman over extremism concerns. The UAE has begun investigating "whether the incident was linked to any terrorist activity or purpose", according to its state news agency. Al Jazeera reports the UAE has now described it as a "terrorist" attack, with the co-pilot using a crash axe.
Captain Machchhar, hailed as a "true hero" by Netanyahu, was taken to hospital in Tabuk before being airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where his family flew from India to be with him. A friend who trained alongside him in New Zealand, Captain Dhaval Patel, said learning of the attack was "shattering": "When it happens to the person you know, the person you love, it breaks you."
Saudi Arabia's embassy in the US said preliminary investigations indicate "the first officer had assaulted the aircraft captain, resulting in both sustaining various injuries". Machchhar, who has flown for 17 years, told Modi he is "recovering well".