Tel Aviv: The pilot of the flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, who saved nearly 180 lives on Wednesday, despite being stabbed, has been identified as Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian aviator.
Dubbed a hero by passengers, he thwarted an alleged sabotage attempt by his co-pilot during a mid-air cockpit clash.
Captain Machchhar reportedly fought off the co-pilot who stabbed him during the clash. He was left bloodied and struggling to speak, as visuals showed passengers praising him as a hero.
Some fellow pilots took over the cockpit and secured a safe landing to a diverted location in Saudi Arabia.
Captain Machchhar, an Indian citizen, has been working with flydubai, a low-cost carrier owned by the Emirati government, for four years now. He had worked for SpiceJet for 10 years prior to that.
He has over 13 years of commercial flying experience on the Boeing 737 fleet and has served as a line training captain extensively, with over 9,750 hours of flying hours, his LinkedIn profile says.
Captain Machchhar joined SpiceJet in 2011 and had served in several roles, including as a line training captain and a senior commander. In June 2022, he quit SpiceJet and joined flydubai as a direct entry captain.
On Wednesday, Flight FZ 1073 was heading from Dubai International (DXB) to Ben Gurion International Airport when an altercation broke out on the flight deck, according to flydubai.
While cruising mid-air, a pilot tried to sabotage the plane’s system, Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement. Captain Machchhar tried to fight him off but was stabbed. Visuals showed him on the floor, with blood all over his face and hands, as reported by NDTV.
“During the flight, as the aircraft was approaching Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and attempted to crash the plane with everyone on board,” Netanyahu said.
However, a crew member and a passenger broke into the cockpit and “subdued” the suspect.
The aircraft dropped over 17,400 feet over two minutes during the cockpit struggle, but a crew member entered the cockpit and stabilised the aircraft, Netanyahu said.
“I salute these heroes, who demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness and courage. They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster,” he added.
The aircraft was forced to divert and safely land at an airport in Saudi Arabia. All the passengers are safe, while the suspect has been arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities.