Captain Smit Machchhar suffered severe bleeding to his head and hand following the mid-air attack by the co-pilot on the Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight, surviving only through the relentless, 45-minute intervention by an Israeli dentist on board.Dr Shuta Musaev, a Georgian dentist living in Israel, used makeshift pressure dressings and ice packs to stabilise Machchhar, whose pulse had dropped dangerously low.This is what Musaev told ABC News while recounting the mid-air medical crisis after co-pilot Omani national Hamam al-Hammami stabbed Machchhar in an apparent attempt to crash the aircraft with over 170 passengers.Machchhar, who has been hailed as a “hero” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is making “steady progress” and is “regaining his health” at a hospital in the United Arab Emirates.On the fateful day, Machchhar was lying injured on the cockpit floor when he realised the plane was descending and decided to make “one last push” to open the cockpit door.Musaev said he rushed forward after hearing screams, helped restrain the attacker and then treated the badly bleeding captain.”I think, how (can) I help this situation for all (the passengers for all plane. How I can help?” he said. “And I see one pilot on the floor, with…blood.” Another passenger, Yaniv Hayun, dragged the suspect from the cockpit, took control of the plane and levelled it before a third pilot took control of the flight.Once the attacker was overpowered, Musaev said he quickly turned his attention to the pilot, who was bleeding from wounds to his head, neck and hands.Musaev said he began applying pressure to the wounds to stop the bleeding.Speaking to The National from Holon, a city south of Tel Aviv, the dentist said, “There was heavy bleeding from his head and left hand.” Musaev said he used T-shirts to press the wounds, but the bleeding didn’t stop.”I asked the stewards for ice,” he said.”He had very, very deep cuts and we needed many ice packets. But every time I opened the T-shirt to check the bleeding, it would bleed more. So I pressed not very hard and with ice. All through the 45 minutes, I kept the pressure on,” Musaev said.”I told him, ‘Please don’t sleep, we need you.’ I asked how many children he had, their names. I kept telling him, ‘Don’t be afraid, you will go back to your family, we are landing soon,'” he added.The dentist said the pilot gave his name and age, said he lived in Dubai and was from India, and asked for help to ease his pain.”Everything will be good,” Musaev said he told the pilot. “He said to me, ‘Help me, please. Help me, please. I don’t want to die here.'”        “He was cut badly and would say, ‘I’m feeling hot on my hands.’ I kept telling him that he would be OK,” Musaev said.The dentist then propped up Machchhar’s feet when his vital signs deteriorated.”At one time, his pulse was too low, so I put his feet up and the pulse came back,” Musaev said. “When I saw his lips were blue, I told the steward, ‘We need to land quickly. He doesn’t have much more time’.”In videos circulated on social media, Machchhar can be heard asking for painkillers. Musaev gave him small sips of water and decided against administering pills because of the heavy bleeding.”He was lying on his back and I hesitated to lift him because I didn’t want re-bleeding. It was dangerous to move him or give him medicines. The stewards wanted to give him medicine but I didn’t agree.”He constantly monitored Machchhar’s vital signs to keep him alive.”If he talks, does not sleep, his pulse, the colour of lips, these were the indicators I had,” Musaev said.He said a small group was scanning and checking for more terrorists until the plane landed in Saudi Arabia.Once in Saudi Arabia, Musaev handed the captain over to doctors on the ground with a quick farewell: “Good luck, my friend. Everything will be good.”Musaev said he and his wife suffered post-traumatic stress in the days following.”Smit saved our lives. Smit is a hero and I thank him for everything he did to save my family and all the passengers. It’s karma, he saved our lives, and we saved his life,” the dentist added.On Tuesday, the Indian Embassy in the UAE said that Machchhar “continues to make steady progress and is regaining his health”.