Photographs of Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who survived a midair terror attack, have revealed the extent of his head injuries and how close he might have come to death after being repeatedly struck with an axe by his Omani co-pilot. Neurosurgeons examining the deep scars and surgical staples on his head have pointed to a dangerous skull fracture, which could have caused catastrophic bleeding during surgery.
A doctor warned that injuries involving a major vein in that part of the brain can carry a risk of death or disability exceeding 40%. Another doctor explained how lifting the broken skull fragments while treating Captain Smit Machchhar could have resulted in the loss of two litres of blood in a minute.Tennessee-based neurosurgeon Dr Sanat Dixit described the injury as "an occipital compound depressed skull fracture treated with a WIDE craniotomy (outer staple line)." Sydney-based Dr Sonu Bhaskar, said, "It is a massive cross-shaped mark.
It tells the story of a severe brain injury and at least two major operations." Their assessments came after photographs of Machchhar's injuries emerged during a ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (October 27), when UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan honoured the pilot and his crew with the First Class Order of Zayed II.Machchhar was attacked on September 30 aboard FlyDubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv. His co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, who was reportedly radicalised by al-Qaida's jihadist ideology, repeatedly struck Machchhar on the head with an emergency axe kept inside the cockpit.
Despite severe bleeding, blurred vision and losing consciousness, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the terrorist co-pilot and prevent a catastrophe.- Ends