Who is Smit Machchhar? Indian flydubai captain who saved 174 passengers' lives after co-pilot stabbed him inside cockpit mid-air during flight

An Indian pilot flying for flydubai is being called a hero after he stopped his own co-pilot from crashing a passenger plane mid-air. Captain Smit Machchhar was flying Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv when his Omani co-pilot allegedly turned on him inside the cockpit, stabbing him repeatedly and trying to force the aircraft into a dive. Machchhar held on, and the plane landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, with all 174 passengers unharmed.

The incident has put the spotlight on a pilot with over a decade of experience in the skies, someone who trained other pilots before he ever found himself fighting for control of his own cockpit.

What happened on the flydubai flight?


The flight was passing over Jordan when it sent out an emergency signal, followed by a second signal pointing to possible unlawful interference. Israeli officials said the two signals followed a physical fight that broke out between the two pilots inside the cockpit. Reuters reported that the co-pilot is believed to have stabbed Machchhar during the struggle.

As the fight was going on, the aircraft began losing altitude sharply. Flight tracking data showed it dropping from around 34,000 feet to about 20,000 feet in under 30 seconds, a fall Reuters put at nearly 14,000 feet in less than half a minute. Passengers on board reportedly heard screaming coming from the front of the plane and saw blood near the cockpit door.

How did the crew respond?

Cabin crew noticed the commotion and managed to get into the cockpit while the struggle was still underway. Their entry is believed to have been a turning point, since it came right as the co-pilot was allegedly trying to seize the controls and push the aircraft further into its dive. With the crew now inside, Machchhar was able to keep hold of the aircraft despite his injuries, and the plane gradually stabilised instead of continuing its descent. Both pilots were hospitalised once the flight landed, with Machchhar having been stabbed multiple times during the confrontation.

Was it a hijacking?

With the emergency codes pointing to unlawful interference, the flight was initially treated as a possible hijacking, and fighter jets were scrambled to track it. The Israeli prime minister's office later said officials did not believe it was a hijacking after all. Some Israeli media have described the episode as a possible attempted suicide or a deliberate bid to bring the plane down, while officials cited by Reuters said they were examining it as a possible terror attack. Reuters also reported that officials do not believe the co-pilot's actions were linked to a mental health issue.

Who is Smit Machchar, the captain being praised for saving the flight?

Machchhar has more than 13 years of commercial flying experience, all of it on the Boeing 737, covering both the older NG version and the newer MAX. He spent 11 years at SpiceJet, from June 2011 to June 2022, flying over 9,500 hours there, more than 6,400 of them as pilot-in-command. From November 2020 until he left, he worked as a Line Training Captain, a role where senior pilots personally train and check other pilots before they are cleared to fly solo, a job that demands a steady temperament under pressure.

He joined flydubai in June 2022 as a Direct Entry Captain, meaning he came in at the rank of captain straight away rather than working his way up inside the airline. He has been based in Dubai since then, flying the airline's 737 fleet, and has logged close to 9,750 flying hours across his career.

What has the airline Flydubai said?

Flydubai confirmed that Flight FZ1073 ran into an incident during its journey from Dubai to Tel Aviv and diverted to Tabuk, where it landed safely. "Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities. Further updates will be issued as additional confirmed details become available," the airline said in its statementThe airline has not publicly confirmed the identities or nationalities of the two pilots, nor given details of what exactly happened inside the cockpit. Investigators are now looking into the confrontation itself, the alleged attempt to take over the aircraft, and the security clearance that had been given to the crew before the flight.

FlyDubai says flights to and from Israel will be suspended while investigation continues into pilot attack.

Inputs from Agencies