WorldPosted at: Oct 1 2026 12:05AM


Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar was wounded in stabbing by flydubai co-pilot who attempted to crash plane

Jerusalem/New Delhi, Sep 30 (UNI) One of the heroes of the day in the drama aboard the flydubai flight is Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, the captain of the aircraft that the Omani co-pilot attempted to crash. Captain Machchhar was wounded by the stabbing during the physical struggle with the attacker, who was serving as the co-pilot.
The co-pilot stabbed him, but Captain Machchhar did not give up - and together with the Israeli passengers who broke into the cockpit, he managed to prevent a deadly attempt to crash the plane.
Captain Machchhar was identified as the pilot of the aircraft that was diverted for an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Machchhar has been hospitalised in Saudi Arabia along with his co-pilot and attacker. Captain Machchhar underwent surgery and is currently in stable condition.
The attack led the plane to plunge more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before the first emergency signal, Israeli news outlets reported.
Captain Machchhar was able to unlock the cockpit door allowing passengers to subdue the copilot and help Machchhar safely land the plane following the stabbing.
FlyDubai is in touch with his family and Indian authorities in the UAE and will issue a statement after studying the cockpit voice recorder.
The Indian government has extended all possible support to Machchhar and has reached out to the UAE and Saudi governments.
He was initially misidentified as Emirati by Israeli officials on the ground in Saudi Arabia after the landing.
According to his LinkedIn page, he is a highly experienced pilot with 15 years of experience at commercial airlines. He joined the Emirati airline flydubai in June 2022, after 11 years flying for Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet.
According to his professional profile, Captain Machchhar has more than 9,750 flight hours on Boeing 737 aircraft, including the 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 and 9, and is estimated to have now accumulated more than 10,000 total flight hours.
During his time at SpiceJet, he logged more than 9,500 flight hours, including more than 6,400 hours as pilot in command (Captain). He also served as a training captain, providing instruction and mentoring and conducting pilot checks.
After the cockpit was breached, two additional pilots who were aboard the flight entered the cockpit and took control of the aircraft, whose tail sustained damage during the rapid and severe dive. One of the Israeli civilians who took part in subduing the attacker recounted: "We neutralized him, the terrorist, using headphones, and a doctor who was on the flight helped the main pilot and stabilized him. It was insane."
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