LONDON: Authorities paid tribute to a “brave” Indian pilot who was credited with averting disaster after being attacked by a colleague in the cockpit of a FlyDubai passenger flight on Wednesday. According to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, the injured captain, Smit Machchhar, is in stable condition in a hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
On Wednesday morning, the Boeing 737 MAX he was piloting made an emergency landing at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport after flying from the UAE. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, lauded Machchhar, who was injured when his co-pilot attacked him in what Israeli investigators described as an effort to crash the plane and kill everyone on board.
“My salute to the Indian pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar, for his extraordinary bravery,” Netanyahu said in a message uploaded on the social media platform X. Despite being stabbed and severely injured, he fought back, preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster. He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israelis and foreign nationals.” According to Netanyahu’s spokesperson, Machchhar was covered in blood and on the floor when he pressed the release that unlocked the cockpit door, allowing passengers to confront the attacker.
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