NEW DELHI – An Indian airline captain has been praised as a hero after thwarting an apparent attempt by a copilot to crash a FlyDubai aircraft. World leaders commended his actions during the midair emergency.
Capt. Smit Machchhar, from Mumbai, India’s financial capital, was seriously wounded after the copilot stabbed him. Passengers then rushed into the cockpit and restrained the attacker as the Boeing 737 went into a steep descent on Wednesday, according to witnesses and Israeli authorities.
The crisis forced the flight, which was carrying 174 people from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv, Israel, to divert and make an emergency landing in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia.
Machchhar was hospitalized and remained in stable condition, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh said late Wednesday. Embassy officials were communicating with his family and Saudi authorities.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Machchhar as a hero on Thursday.
“In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others. His valor helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy,” Modi wrote on X.
Few details about Machchhar are publicly available. His LinkedIn profile says he has worked for FlyDubai for roughly four years. Before that, he spent 11 years at SpiceJet, an Indian low-cost airline, serving as a senior commander and line training captain.
The profile lists him as having more than 9,750 hours of flight experience.
Machchhar began his pilot training in 2008 at Mainland Air in Dunedin, New Zealand, where he studied for 18 months, the school’s CEO, Philip Kean, told 1News.
Kean said Machchhar performed very well as a student before returning to India, where he later worked as a recruiter for the school.
“We’re all very proud of him here and wish him a speedy recovery,” Kean said.
SpiceJet also recognized Machchhar’s actions in a post on X, praising his “heroic courage” and “selfless actions.” “You are a hero to us all, Captain,” the airline wrote.
The incident prompted a major security operation in Israel, where authorities scrambled fighter jets amid fears that the aircraft might have been hijacked. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker, an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was being questioned there. His motive was not immediately known.
Netanyahu praised Machchhar’s “extraordinary bravery” on X, saying the wounded captain fought back after being stabbed, opened the cockpit door and helped passengers and crew subdue the attacker. Those actions prevented what Netanyahu called a “catastrophic midair disaster.”
“He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals,” Netanyahu wrote.
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Associated Press journalist Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.
