Israeli PM hails Indian pilot wounded in diverted flydubai flight
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File image of Captain Smit Machchhar. Photo: X/@IsraelMFA
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the Indian Captain Smit Machchhar, who was wounded in an altercation with his copilot who allegedly tried to crash a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight on Wednesday (September 30, 2026).
Describing him as a “true hero”, Mr. Netanyahu said that “despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster.”
He said Mr. Machchhar saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals.
News website Ynet, citing Israeli officials, reported that the co-pilot was an Omani national and was suspected of trying to crash the aircraft.
The Indian captain fought with him to prevent the aircraft from crashing, with Israeli passengers later helping subdue the co-pilot, the report said.
The flydubai flight FZ1073, travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, had transmitted emergency signals and made a sharp descent before diverting to Prince Sultan Bin Abdel Aziz Airport in Tabuk. The flight was carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children.
Mr. Machchhar has more than 13 years of commercial flying experience and has flown more than 9,500 hours.
A native of Mumbai, he was with SpiceJet for over 11 years before taking up the role of captain at flydubai in June 2022.
Mr. Machchar is a "good person", a senior pilot who had worked with him at SpiceJet told PTI.
According to his Linkedin profile, Mr. Machchhar was a former Line Training Captain at SpiceJet.
He joined flydubai as a captain in June 2022 after serving with SpiceJet as a commander for little over 11 years from June 2011, as per the profile.
Machchhar has flown more than 9,500 hours, including over 6,400 hours as Pilot In Command (PIC), said his profile, in which he describes himself as an airline captain with over 13 years of commercial flying experience on the Boeing 737 fleet, including extensive time as a Line Training Captain.
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