'Missing' Oxygen Masks, Landing With A Damaged Rudder: 5 Flydubai Questions Answered

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Several theories about what happened aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 have been circulating since the aircraft made its emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on September 30. Many remain unverified, while others have drawn sweeping conclusions from fragments of video, flight-tracking data and eyewitness accounts.

UAE investigators have released their preliminary findings, including that the co-pilot attempted to carry out a terrorist act. But the aviation and criminal investigations remain under way, and such probes take time, meaning some questions cannot yet be answered conclusively.

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Others can. Among the questions repeatedly being asked are: Why did the oxygen masks not drop despite the aircraft losing around 16,000 feet? How could it continue flying with visible rudder damage? Did a plumber really land the aircraft? And how can an aircraft survive such a dramatic loss of altitude?

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Here, Khaleej Times decodes five of the key questions, drawing on official statements, witness accounts taken in context and an interview with aviation analyst Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research.

1. Why did the oxygen masks not drop despite the aircraft losing around 16,000 feet?

Footage from inside the aircraft shows the oxygen masks remained stowed even as flight-tracking data indicated a rapid loss of altitude. That prompted questions online about why they had not deployed.

Ahmad said the key point is that oxygen masks are not triggered by a rapid descent itself.

“Cabin pressure, not altitude dictates whether oxygen masks are deployed,” he said.

An aircraft can lose altitude rapidly while its pressurisation system continues to maintain a safe cabin environment. The aviation expert said there was“absolutely no evidence” in this incident of a cabin pressure fault or decompression that would have triggered the masks.

“So in that sense, they were not required despite the aggressive manoeuvres that the 737 MAX 8 was subject to,” he said.

Aircraft are designed to maintain cabin pressure through significant changes in altitude, Ahmad added. A dramatic descent therefore does not, by itself, mean passengers would suddenly require supplemental oxygen.

2. Did a plumber really land the aircraft?

One of the most persistent claims after the incident was that a plumber with no flying experience had landed the aircraft.

But that is not what the passenger himself said, nor is it what flydubai has stated.

Yaniv Hayun, the plumber who helped during the emergency, told Reuters that he briefly took the controls. He was clear, however, that another pilot subsequently landed it.

Flydubai's initial statement said on-duty crew travelling on the flight had secured the aircraft, diverted it and landed safely in Tabuk. Two days later, CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith thanked“the pilots who secured the aircraft and landed it safely”.

Hayun, therefore, may have briefly handled the controls, but neither his own account nor flydubai's statements support the claim that he landed the aircraft.

3. How could the aircraft continue flying and land with a damaged rudder?

Images taken after the emergency landing showed visible damage to the aircraft's rudder, prompting questions about how the jet was still able to remain controllable.

The aviation expert explained that the rudder controls the aircraft's yaw, or side-to-side movement, but it is only one of several flight-control systems available to pilots.

"So despite the detachment of a sizeable chunk of that control surface, the pilots still had fully functioning elevators for pitch to be able to descend and land, and also full control of the ailerons (a hinged control surface on the wings that helps the aircraft roll or bank left and right) to move the airplane right or left, as well as full engine control to manage thrust and performance."

He added that any loss of a control surface presents additional risk, but the aircraft still retained other means of controlling its movement and bringing it safely to the ground.

4. Could an aircraft survive losing around 16,000 feet?

Some of the theories circulating online have questioned whether an aircraft could lose around 16,000 feet so rapidly and still remain intact and recoverable.

Ahmad said the altitude lost, by itself, does not tell us whether an aircraft should have broken apart or become impossible to recover.

Commercial aircraft are engineered with considerable structural strength and wing flexibility to withstand substantial aerodynamic forces, he explained. What matters is how the aircraft lost that altitude, including its rate of descent, airspeed, pitch, G-forces and whether there was still sufficient control authority to recover it.

A sharp loss of altitude therefore does not necessarily mean an aircraft was simply“falling out of the sky”, nor does the number of feet lost alone establish that it should have broken apart. A steep descent can still be recoverable if sufficient control of the aircraft can be maintained.

The aviation expert said the flight data recorders will ultimately provide the clearest picture of the descent profile and the forces the aircraft experienced.

5. How was Captain Machchhar caught off guard by the attack?

Another question raised online is how Captain Smit Machchhar could have been taken by surprise inside the cockpit.

His own account provides a straightforward explanation: the first blow came from behind and without warning.

Machchhar said the first thing he felt was a heavy blow to the back of his head. He initially thought something catastrophic had happened to the aircraft. It was only when the blows continued that he realised the danger was coming from the other person inside the cockpit.

The UAE Attorney-General later said investigators had found that the co-pilot attacked Machchhar inside the flight deck with a crash axe while attempting to take control of the aircraft's flight controls.

Machchhar said his vision was fading as he tried to resist the attack and the aircraft pitched downwards. Despite his injuries, he managed to open the cockpit door, only for the attacker to shut it again.

He recalled being on the floor and hearing people screaming outside. He reached for the door control again and managed to open it, allowing others to enter the cockpit and intervene.

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