Flydubai co-pilot may have shut down plane's engines, causing it to plunge 16,000-ft: Report. Flydubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami, who attacked Indian Captain Smit Machchhar, may have shut off the plane’s engines after his bid to bring the plane down was foiled, a report in an Italian newspaper stated. He then switched off the autopilot and pushed the control stick, sending the aircraft into a steep descent. It lost around 16,000 feet in 30 seconds.