FlyDubai pilot showed world 'the highest form of courage,' India's PM says
The Indian pilot being credited with helping save the lives of 174 passengers after being stabbed on a FlyDubai aircraft heading to Israel has "shown the world the highest form of courage," India’s prime minister said.
Narendra Modi said Thursday that Capt. Smit Machchhar, "without fearing for his own life," had "fought valiantly and prevented another 9/11-like attack from happening" on Wednesday aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073, which had to make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
Modi added that India is saluting Machchhar and is "praying for his wellbeing." The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia described the "brave" pilot as being in stable condition after being taken to a hospital.
"Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian captain of FlyDubai Flight 1073, fought back after being stabbed in the cockpit," according to the Israel Foreign Ministry. "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."
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said on Wednesday there was "no doubt" that a FlyDubai pilot who allegedly stabbed Machchhar was attempting to bring down the plane, calling it a miracle that the aircraft was able to land safely.
"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," he continued.
After the plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia, another FlyDubai aircraft was brought in to bring the passengers to their destination of Tel Aviv.
"I did speak to [Israeli Prime Minister] Bibi [Benjamin] Netanyahu at length about this event, and it seems as though the copilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job. And he stabbed the pilot," President Donald Trump said Wednesday.
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Machchhar’s LinkedIn profile stated he has worked for FlyDubai for about four years, according to The Associated Press.
Before joining the airline, Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, spent 11 years with SpiceJet, an Indian low-cost carrier, where he served as a senior commander and line training captain. He logged more than 9,750 flying hours with SpiceJet, according to the profile.
SpiceJet, in a post on X, praised Machchhar’s "heroic courage" and "selfless actions."
"You are a hero to us all, Captain," the airline wrote.
Machchhar, who is married and has two children, trained as a pilot at Mainland Air in the New Zealand city of Dunedin for 18 months, beginning in 2008, the school’s head Philip Kean told 1News, a New Zealand television news channel.
Shota Musayev, a dentist and eyewitness, told The Associated Press how the wounded Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door to let passengers in before they grappled with the copilot.
Musayev then treated Machchhar.
"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.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz, Stepheny Price and The Associated Press contributed to this post.