‘Who’s Going To Save You?’: Smit Machchhar’s Old Podcast Gains New Meaning After FlyDubai Attack

Tel Aviv: A flight can feel like the safest place in the world when everything is routine. You board, find your seat, wait for take-off and rarely think about the people who may have to save your life if things suddenly go wrong thousands of feet above the ground.

For FlyDubai Captain Smit Machchhar, that reality became painfully personal on September 30.

Hours after the Indian pilot was stabbed inside the cockpit of FlyDubai flight FZ1073, an old podcast in which he spoke about the importance of cabin crew during an emergency began circulating online. What he said at the time was a general observation about aviation. After what happened aboard his own flight, however, his words sound strikingly different.

“When we are up there and something happens, who’s going to save you?" Machchhar says in the podcast. “You’ll be lucky enough to have a doctor on board… but if not, then…”

He then explains why cabin crew can become crucial when there is no immediate medical help available.

“They (crew) may not be trained to do surgeries but they can save your life," he says.

The clip has drawn attention because, during the FlyDubai emergency, Machchhar himself became the person who needed help.

Machchhar's podcast conversation wasn't about his own experiences.  He was discussing something that passengers might not always think about, which is the important role that cabin crew can have during an emergency in the air. 

Passengers usually think of cabin crew as the people who help with getting on the plane, serving food, and giving regular directions during the flight.  But when things really go wrong, their role can become much more significant. 

Machchhar also mentioned this during the podcast, saying that people often don't value the cabin crew until an emergency happens and they have to rely on them.

“It is unfortunate how the outlook of people is towards the crew but when things are going wrong, you need them," he said. That thought has acquired a very different meaning following the attack on FZ1073.

The FlyDubai flight was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when Machchhar was attacked inside the cockpit by his fellow pilot. The Indian captain suffered multiple injuries and heavy blood loss. Dr Shota Mosaev, a dentist who was travelling on the aircraft, later recalled the severity of his condition.

“He was covered in cuts, his head, his hands were practically sliced open, almost severed in two," Mosaev said.

As Machchhar's condition got worse, his blood pressure started to fall and he lost awareness, according to Mosaev.  At 35,000 feet, there was no hospital or emergency room to go to.  The people who were already on the plane had to react. 

Mosaev took care of the hurt captain and tried to stop the bleeding.  At the same time, passengers stepped in to try and control the attacker.  Mosaev said the attacker was first tied up with a headphone cord, and then passengers used plastic zip ties to make sure he couldn't move. 

The response involved more than one person.  Passengers got on the plane, a doctor who wasn't working at the moment helped out, and some pilots who weren't flying that day also joined in after the attack in the cockpit. 

During the crisis, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door even though he was hurt, letting people outside come in and assist. 

The irony is difficult to miss.  Machchhar once talked about what happens when an emergency leaves passengers relying on the people around them.  He said that even if a doctor isn't always present, trained crew members can still be very important.  On his own flight, a doctor was present there.  So were the passengers and crew members who reacted as the situation developed. 

FZ1073 was eventually changed course and landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.  Machchhar was taken to the hospital to get treated and was later told that their condition was stable. 

The podcast that came back is now being looked at in light of that event.  Machchhar wasn't trying to guess what would happen to him, and he wasn't talking about a problem that would come later.  He was just talking about a part of flying that most people don't think about. 

But after September 30, those old words mean something completely different. 

What used to be a captain talking about why cabin crew are important has now turned into a reminder of what can happen when the people on board are suddenly the only ones able to help.