He was stabbed by his co-pilot but continued fighting, helping prevent what Israeli officials believe was an attempt to crash a passenger jet carrying mostly Israelis: Indian pilot Smit Machchhar has emerged as one of the central figures in the drama aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073.
Machchhar, the captain of the aircraft diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, was wounded during the struggle with the Omani co-pilot suspected of trying to bring down the plane.
Indian pilot Smit Machchhar
(Photo: LinkedIn/Smit Machchhar)
He was identified in India and Israel as the captain involved in the incident. According to his LinkedIn profile, Machchhar has about 15 years of experience flying for commercial airlines.
He joined the Emirati carrier Flydubai in June 2022 after spending 11 years with Indian low-cost airline SpiceJet.
According to his profile, Machchhar had logged more than 9,750 flight hours on Boeing 737 aircraft, including the 737-800 and Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 9. His current total is likely higher.
Footage of the pilot stabbed aboard the Flydubai flight
During his years at SpiceJet, he accumulated more than 9,500 flight hours, including over 6,400 hours as pilot in command.
Machchhar also served as a training captain, instructing, mentoring and evaluating other pilots.
The experience became critical Wednesday morning when the routine Dubai-Tel Aviv flight turned into a cockpit emergency.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said later that “during the flight, as they approached Israel, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone aboard.”
Netanyahu said he had spoken with one of the Israeli passengers involved in stopping the suspected attacker.
“He told me that the plane entered a spin and began to plunge,” Netanyahu said. “He told me that, somehow, he managed to break into the cockpit with one of the crew members, and together they subdued the stabbing pilot while he was trying to sabotage the aircraft’s systems.”
Two additional pilots then entered the cockpit and took control of the aircraft, whose tail was damaged during the rapid descent.
One of the passengers who helped restrain the suspected attacker said a doctor then assisted the wounded captain.
“We neutralized him, the terrorist, and a doctor helped the chief pilot and stabilized him,” the passenger said. “It was insane.”
Passengers said they restrained the suspected attacker using cables from the multimedia headphones distributed aboard the flight.
After the aircraft made its emergency landing in Tabuk, the passengers remained in Saudi Arabia for several hours before boarding another Flydubai aircraft for Israel.
They landed at Ben Gurion Airport Wednesday evening, bringing an end to a journey that began as a routine flight from Dubai and became a violent struggle inside the cockpit.