Smeet Matshahar, the pilot of the Fly Dubai flight that experienced a security incident, recounted what happened inside the cockpit during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Matshahar stated that the flight began normally, and the co-pilot requested to pray, which is a common practice locally. After a few minutes, he received a strong blow to the back of his head, explaining that his first thought was that the aircraft had sustained serious damage, before realizing that the danger was coming from the other person in the cockpit.

He added that the successive blows affected his vision and caused significant confusion, while the aircraft was descending sharply. He attempted to open the cockpit door several times, but the attacker closed it again, noting that he found himself lying on the floor of the cockpit amid the sounds of the aircraft and the screams of the passengers.
He continued that he decided to make one last stand, realizing that not confronting the attacker could lead to his death, and managed to open the door, allowing the passengers to enter and take control of the situation.

Netanyahu responded, expressing admiration for the courage and calmness shown by the pilot, asking about the mechanism for opening the door. Matshahar explained that the door opens from the inside by turning a special handle, while opening from the outside requires entering a code, but the attacker prevented his colleagues from entering it, making it possible to open the door only by accessing the internal handle and turning it.