Captain Smit Machchhar: The Jovial Pilot and Father Who Thwarted a Flydubai Attack

A Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv turned into a life-or-death struggle when an Indian captain fought off a violent attack by his copilot in what has been described as an apparent hijacking attempt. More than 170 people were on board.

Captain Smit Machchhar was stabbed repeatedly as he tried to fend off the attacker, leaving him badly wounded. During the struggle, the cockpit door opened, allowing passengers to rush in, subdue the assailant and help bring the aircraft back under control. The plane was en route to Tel Aviv.

Machchhar's actions have drawn widespread praise from political leaders, passengers and people who know him, turning the pilot into an unlikely symbol of courage in both Israel and India.

Jinat Shah, who lived next door to Machchhar in Mumbai before he moved to Dubai, described him as a talented, soft-spoken and kind-hearted person with a good nature. 'He is an incredible person, and I hope for his fast recovery,' Shah told Indian news agency ANI.

Passengers on flight FZ1073 described the chaos as the plane plunged 17,400 feet in less than 120 seconds. One passenger told CNN: 'I was just sure I was going to die.'

After the attacker was restrained, the flight was diverted to Saudi Arabia, where two standby pilots who happened to be traveling as passengers safely landed the plane.

The episode has focused attention on cockpit security and the thin margin between routine travel and catastrophe. For airlines, it was a reminder that even a locked cockpit can become a flashpoint, and that crew training and passenger response can be decisive.

Machchhar's heroics came at a steep personal cost. He is reported to be a 39-year-old father of two.

Images from the cabin after the attack showed a gruesome scene, with blood splashed across the cockpit and the seriously wounded pilot lying on the floor, his pained face partly covered by a mask.

Machchhar suffered massive blood loss and was severely wounded, dentist Shota Musaev, a passenger who helped treat him, told CNN. 'I think that if we had waited even a few more moments, we would have lost him; his blood pressure had plummeted, he suddenly lost consciousness, and there was blood everywhere,' he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN that Machchhar's bravery 'managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster.'

Machchhar is now receiving medical care at a hospital in Saudi Arabia, according to the Indian embassy in Riyadh, and is in stable condition.

His path to the cockpit was not a childhood dream. Born into a family in the textile business, he initially enrolled in a textile engineering course after school, he told the Bona-Fide Banter podcast in 2025.

'I finished the entire course, I still was young so wanted to do a little more studies,' he said.

Once he decided on flying, his training took him to New Zealand, where he arrived at about 19 in the southern city of Dunedin.

'He was always sort of a jovial young man and he tried hard,' his instructor at the time, Philip Kean, told CNN.

In a group photograph Kean shared from those days, Machchhar is easy to pick out. 'He definitely got a smile of his own... he's sort of a happy, happy chap,' said Kean, CEO of Mainland Air in Dunedin.

Before joining Flydubai, Machchhar spent 11 years with Indian carrier SpiceJet, rising to the position of Senior Commander, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Before the attack, one of the most unusual situations he had faced during more than 15 years of flying was the birth of a baby on board.

A woman on the plane, who was not at term, had started experiencing labor pains, Machchhar told the podcast. 'Within 7-10 minutes, she was like, captain this is now advancing toward a delivery.'

Machchhar said he and the first officer checked for the nearest airfields and conditions to make a safe landing. Both the mother and baby were fine, he added.

Watching news of Machchhar's heroic actions from New Zealand, Kean was full of praise for the young man he had once taught. 'It was an amazing feat,' he told CNN.

'There could have been a whole airplane load of people wiped out in a matter of seconds, and luckily they got the door open... luckily he could hang on and save the day. Another half a minute would have been all over.'

'I'm very proud,' he said. 'I'm very proud that he handled that situation... It's great the way it turned out.'

Machchhar has become a national hero for two nations: Israel, where most of the passengers were from, and his home country, India.

'The pilot from Mumbai who proved to be a hero,' wrote the Times of India.

'Viewers, if 166 Israelis go home tonight without a scratch, it is all down to the bravery of one single Indian, Captain Smit Machchhar,' a CNN News-18 anchor said during his primetime program.

Speaking on the podcast last year about how it feels to be a pilot, Machchhar's answer was simple: 'Blessed.'

Additional reporting by Sandi Sidhu.

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