FlyDubai pilot Smit Machchhar recounts surviving cockpit stabbing and crash attempt

The Indian airline captain who helped thwart an apparent attempt to crash a FlyDubai flight described Friday how he fought for his life in the minutes after his co-pilot stabbed him and the plane began a steep descent. Capt. Smit Machchhar spoke about the harrowing ordeal from an Abu Dhabi hospital during a televised video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Mid-Air Attack and Emergency Descent

The flight, carrying 182 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. According to reports from the BBC and wire services, the aircraft first transmitted an emergency signal to air traffic controllers before switching to squawk code 7500, the international transponder code indicating a hijacking.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later told reporters that one pilot had stabbed the other before 'apparently trying to crash' the plane. During the assault, the jet plunged more than 17,000ft (5,200m). Despite sustaining serious injuries and being knocked to the floor, Capt. Machchhar relied on his extensive aviation background to monitor the aircraft's trajectory. When I was down, I could feel that the aircraft was plummeting, he said, noting that his 17 years of flying experience allowed him to sense the steep descent even with his eyes closed.

Flight Detail	Information
Flight Number	FZ1073
Route	Dubai to Tel Aviv
People On Board	182
Altitude Drop	More than 17,000 feet (5,200 meters)
Diversion Airport	Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia
Landing Time	06:58 local time

Heroism in the Cockpit and Cabin Intervention

As the aircraft plummeted, Machchhar remembered reciting the Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman, the monkey god, and traditionally recited as a prayer for strength and courage. Realizing the immediate peril to everyone on board, he forced himself back up.

"I was lying on the floor injured but I told myself to go for one last push to open the door from inside,"

Capt. Smit Machchhar, FlyDubai pilot, via BBC and Associated Press

Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, was seriously injured in Wednesday’s attack but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply, witnesses and Israeli authorities said. Fellow passengers overpowered the attacker, and two reserve pilots who were on board landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk Airport in north-western Saudi Arabia at 06:58 local time. FlyDubai said Wednesday that the jet was secured by on-duty crew members “who diverted and landed the aircraft safely.” A regional official said the crew members were pilots in training. He has been hailed as a hero, with world leaders saying he helped avert a disaster.

Suspect Identity and Official Response

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker, an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was undergoing interrogation there. Netanyahu told Fox News the attacker was an Omani national and said investigations suggested he had undergone 'Islamist radical indoctrination'. He said that once the man had been subdued and tied up by passengers and crew, he was calling out to the aircrew 'kill me, kill me', adding it was 'clear he was suicidal'. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Philip Kean, CEO of Mainland Air, the New Zealand flight school where Machchhar trained, said pilots are taught how to take over if a fellow crew member becomes incapacitated. But the training does not typically prepare them for a stabbing attack by a colleague, he told The Associated Press on Friday. I don’t think there’s much in the handbook for being stabbed, Kean said. You’re friends and you’re flying together, he said. Nobody would expect … a person to have a go at you like that.

Medical Recovery and National Recognition

Machchhar was taken to hospital in Tabuk and then airlifted to Abu Dhabi, where he is reported to be in a stable condition. The Indian embassy in the UAE said on Thursday that he was 'in good health and recovering well'. Ambassador Deepak Mittal said he was 'proud' of Capt Smit's bravery and 'very reassured' after meeting him.

Modi told Machchhar his “courage, patience, and presence of mind” saved many lives. I am not looking at this wound like a wound because that would make my recovery even more difficult, Machchhar said. I am looking at it as a journey which is slowly going on and will take time but I am confident that the recovery will be there and I will become fit and healthy again.

Next Steps

The investigation into the cockpit attack remains ongoing under Saudi authorities, where the Omani national is currently detained and interrogated. Aviation regulators and security agencies are expected to review cockpit security protocols in the wake of the incident. Meanwhile, Machchhar continues his recuperation under medical supervision in Abu Dhabi.