Who is Smit Machchhar? The textile student who became a Flydubai captain
Captain Smit Machchhar, the Flydubai pilot whose actions during the FZ1073 emergency drew global praise. Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.
New Delhi: Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian Flydubai pilot at the centre of international attention after the Wednesday cockpit emergency on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight. He has been praised by the president, Droupadi Murmu; the prime minister, Narendra Modi; the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog; and Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu; and even the US president, Donald Trump, for his actions during the incident.
The Gujarat government has also announced the Visisht Gujarat Garima Award and a ₹25 lakh reward for the Boeing 737 captain.
Machchhar was seriously injured during an altercation aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073 but managed to help open access to the cockpit, allowing passengers, crew and other pilots aboard to intervene before the aircraft landed safely at Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. Modi later called him a “HERO”, while Netanyahu described him as “a true hero”.
But behind the headlines is a commercial pilot whose route to the cockpit was never part of his original career plan.
From textile engineering to aviation
Machchhar is an Indian commercial pilot with nearly 9,750 flying hours on Boeing 737 aircraft. He joined Flydubai as a direct entry captain in June 2022 after spending more than 11 years with SpiceJet, where he rose to become a senior commander and line training captain.
His professional profile lists more than 13 years of commercial aviation experience and describes him as having a “strong focus on safety”. During his years at SpiceJet, he logged more than 9,500 hours, including over 6,400 as pilot-in-command, while also conducting line training, pilot checks and mentoring.
Aviation, however, was not Machchhar’s childhood ambition. After school, he studied textile engineering with the expectation of eventually joining his family’s textile business before pursuing management studies at Mumbai’s Welingkar Institute of Management.
As RNA Media reported earlier, his direction changed at about 19 when he attended an aviation seminar during his management course. “That is where the aviation bug bit me,” he recalled in a 2025 interview.
Machchhar has said his mother was initially reluctant about the switch because becoming a commercial pilot was a much less familiar career choice in India 15 to 17 years ago and because of her concerns about flying. He subsequently travelled to New Zealand for commercial pilot training before joining SpiceJet in 2011.
A safety-first flying career
Machchhar’s professional philosophy also appears strongly centred on safety. Recalling occasions when he delayed departures over technical concerns or diverted flights for medical emergencies, he said in the 2025 interview: “Delay is not my problem. As long as you’re walking out of the aircraft is what I want.”
In 2022, he moved to Flydubai as a direct entry captain, joining at captain rank on the strength of his previous command experience rather than progressing through the airline from first officer. He continued flying the Boeing 737 fleet.
Away from work, Machchhar has described keeping aviation separate from his personal life. Once outside the cockpit, he said, he preferred to leave flying behind and spend time with his family and children.
As RNA Media reported earlier, his actions aboard FZ1073 drew praise from Modi, Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. Gujarat subsequently announced the state honour and ₹25 lakh reward.
After undergoing emergency surgery in Tabuk, Machchhar was airlifted from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates for advanced medical treatment. He is reported to be stable, while Indian diplomatic officials remain in contact with his family and are coordinating assistance.
