Indian pilot Smit Machchhar
| Photo Credit: Israel Foreign Ministry
Captain Smit Machchhar has been hailed as a “hero” by leaders across the globe, including President Droupadi Murmi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Donald Trump, after an act of bravery on board the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight staved off a major air crash and saved the lives of 174 passengers, including 27 children.
On September 30, 2026, the Indian pilot was stabbed by his co-pilot mid-air in an attempt to crash the plane. Passengers and crew helped Mr Machchhar avoid what could have been a major disaster. The motive behind the co-pilot stabbing Mr. Machchhar and causing the flight scare is being ascertained by authorities.
Who is Smit Machhar?
Captain Smit Machchhar joined the aviation industry with SpiceJet in June 2011 and worked for over 11 years, before joining flydubai as a captain in 2022, where has now worked for more than four years, as per his LinkedIn profile.
A Reuters report adds that Mr Machchhar, who has logged nearly 9,750 flying hours in his career, found aviation relatively late.
The aviator had enrolled in a textile engineering course after school, aiming to continue his family’s textile business before pursuing management studies at Mumbai’s Welingkar Institute of Management. It was here that he discovered flying during an aviation seminar.
At SpiceJet, he rose through the ranks and became a line training captain and mentored younger pilots.
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Is Smit Machchhar safe?
Captain Machchhar is recovering and undergoing treatment in a hospital in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk, where the fateful aircraft was diverted to after dramatic scenes unfolded within the cockpit.
What happened on the flydubai flight?
Flight path of flydubai flight, FZ1073
Captain Machchhar’s co-pilot reportedly stabbed him mid-flight and attempted to crash the jet. This sent the jet plunging nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds, in an increasingly dangerous situation.
The Mumbai native was covered in blood on the cockpit floor when he managed to activate the release to open the cockpit door, according to Israeli officials. This allowed passengers to enter and overpower his co-pilot while two flydubai pilots who were passengers on the aircraft helped the aircraft make an safe landing.
The flight eventually made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
The passengers later arrived at their intended destination in Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport aboard a replacement aircraft, with several describing the harrowing experience and the miracle of being safe.
TV show helped passenger steady the plane
In a video released by the office of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Bibi is seen hugging a passenger of the flydubai flight, identified Yaniv, who helped in steadying the plane after the stabbing incident and the sudden drop in altitude.
Yaniv has claimed that he managed to intervene and help avert the disaster because he watches Air Crash Investigation, as quoted by i24 news. Mayday, also known as Air Crash Investigation, is a Canadian TV show that documents air mishaps.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Published – October 01, 2026 02:48 pm IST
