Flydubai captain describes blocking axe blows during co-pilot attack on flight FZ1073

Left-leaning outlets report that Capt Smit Machchhar, the captain of flydubai flight FZ1073, has described how he blocked axe blows to his head and screamed for help while reaching to open the cockpit door. They say the co-pilot who attacked him intended to crash the plane, and they note that Machchhar has been hailed as a hero for his part in averting disaster on the flight.

Alternative and independent coverage, here from Reuters, gives the same core account: a co-pilot who intended to crash the plane attacked the captain, who blocked axe blows to the head and screamed for help as he reached for a knob to open the door. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative or independent outlets had. Those covering it focus on the captain's first-person description of the attack. The excerpts available give no date, location, number of people aboard or details of any investigation or next steps. The Guardian adds the hero description, while Reuters stays on the sequence of events in the cockpit.