Capt. Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot of FlyDubai Flight FZ1073, is being praised internationally after he was stabbed in the cockpit mid-flight but still managed to help prevent a catastrophic attack that threatened all 174 people on board.
The aircraft, bound for Tel Aviv, was forced into an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday after the attack. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Machchhar had “shown the world the highest form of courage,” adding that the pilot, “without fearing for his own life,” had “fought valiantly and prevented another 9/11-like attack from happening.” Modi said India was “praying for his wellbeing.”
The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said Machchhar, who was taken to a hospital, was in stable condition after the attack.
According to the Israel Foreign Ministry, Machchhar “fought back after being stabbed in the cockpit” and, “despite being severely injured, he managed to unlock the cockpit door – allowing Israeli passengers and the Emirati crew to intervene and save all the passengers.”
A ‘terror attack,’ Israeli officials say
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said there was “no doubt” that the FlyDubai co-pilot accused of stabbing Machchhar had intended to bring the plane down, calling the safe landing a miracle.
“We have no doubt that it was a terror attack of a radical individual,” Danon said on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.” “We know that there was an intention to bring that plane down, and we are grateful.”
After the emergency landing in Tabuk, a second FlyDubai aircraft was sent to carry the passengers on to their original destination of Tel Aviv.
President Donald Trump said he had spoken at length with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the incident. “It seems as though the copilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job. And he stabbed the pilot,” Trump said Wednesday.
A career built across Mumbai, Dunedin and the Gulf
Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, has worked for FlyDubai for about four years, according to his LinkedIn profile as reported by The Associated Press. Before that, he spent 11 years with the Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet, rising to senior commander and line training captain and logging more than 9,750 flying hours.
SpiceJet praised his “heroic courage” and “selfless actions” in a post on X, writing, “You are a hero to us all, Captain.”
Machchhar, who is married and has two children, trained as a pilot at Mainland Air in Dunedin, New Zealand, for 18 months beginning in 2008, according to the school’s head, Philip Kean, who spoke to New Zealand broadcaster 1News.
Shota Musayev, a dentist who was on board the flight, told The Associated Press that the wounded Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door to let passengers in before they confronted the co-pilot. Musayev then treated the pilot’s injuries.
“Poor pilot, he was just praying the whole time and was in contact with me, and I was afraid we would really lose him,” Musayev said.
The State Department has confirmed that four Americans were on board the flight when the stabbing occurred.
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