New Delhi: The prime minister, Narendra Modi, on Thursday called Indian Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar a “HERO”, joining the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the United States president, Donald Trump, in praising him after he was seriously injured fighting a copilot who allegedly tried to crash a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight carrying 174 people. Netanyahu called Machchhar “a true hero”, while Trump said “in a way he was a hero”, as authorities investigated the mid-air cockpit attack.
Machchhar is stable and receiving treatment in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, for serious injuries sustained during the struggle aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073. The Boeing 737 landed safely at Tabuk, and the passengers subsequently flown onwards to Tel Aviv.
As RNA Media reported earlier, the aircraft was diverted after emergency alerts and a rapid loss of altitude during a violent confrontation in the cockpit. Israeli officials said the copilot stabbed Machchhar and allegedly tried to crash the aircraft, while Flydubai has confirmed an altercation on the flight deck but said the motive remains unknown.
The aircraft lost nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before the situation was brought under control. Despite being badly injured, Machchhar managed to release the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to enter and overpower the copilot before two other Flydubai pilots travelling aboard took control and landed at Tabuk.
Passenger accounts published by the Times of Israel describe several travellers joining the intervention. Israeli dentist Dr Shota Musayev said he treated Machchhar’s heavy bleeding and helped stabilize him, while other passengers restrained the copilot.
Machchhar, a Mumbai native based in Dubai, has nearly 9,750 flying hours and about 15 years of commercial aviation experience, including more than a decade with SpiceJet before joining Flydubai in 2022.
‘Hero’ praise from three leaders
Modi wrote on X on Thursday: “Captain Smit Machchhar is a HERO.” He said that despite being seriously injured, the pilot had shown “immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others”.
“His valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy. India is proud of Captain Machchhar,” Modi said, while praying for his speedy recovery, renewed strength and good health.
Netanyahu also praised Machchhar on X, saluting his “extraordinary bravery”. He said the Indian pilot had fought back despite being stabbed and seriously injured, opened the cockpit door and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker, preventing what he described as a catastrophic mid-air disaster.
“He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals,” Netanyahu said, adding: “He is a true hero.”
Trump also described Machchhar as a “hero” while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after a conversation with Netanyahu.
“The pilot was in very bad shape; I guess he still is in very bad shape, but he had the sense to, amazing, to, in a way he was a hero,” Trump said.
Referring to the copilot, Trump said it appeared he was “perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack-job”, but the motive behind the attack has not been established by investigators. Trump himself cautioned that parts of the account he was recounting were based on information passed to him, saying: “I don’t know if it’s true.”
The copilot has been described by an Israeli official as an Omani national, but his identity, motive and any formal charges have not been publicly established. Netanyahu has said Saudi authorities arrested and were questioning him, while the United Arab Emirates’ general civil aviation authority has classified the episode as a security incident and is examining its operational and security aspects.
Flydubai has urged against “premature speculation” and said the underlying reasons remain subject to formal investigation. The airline has also suspended flights to and from Israel while the inquiry continues, leaving investigators to establish why the confrontation began, whether the aircraft’s descent was deliberate and precisely how the emergency unfolded inside the cockpit.