Before Wednesday, Captain Smit Machchhar was like any other Indian commercial aviator operating for an international airline. But his swift response, an instinct natural to any seasoned pilot, yet backed by extraordinary grit and bravery, averted a mid-air disaster.
The flydubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, departed Dubai for Tel Aviv on Wednesday, with Captain Machchhar and his co-pilot from Oman in the cockpit along with 174 passengers, mostly Israelis, and crew on board.
As the plane gained height, inside the high-security enclosure of the flight deck, Captain Machchar was fatally assaulted by his co-pilot, who tried to regain the control and dive the aircraft in a suspected hijack attempt.
The Indian aviator resisted the knife attacks, taking the wounds over his body. Together with the help of alarmed passengers and crew, he somehow managed to open the door of the cockpit. Seeing the Captain battling out, Yaniv Hayun, an Israeli passenger on Flydubai flight, narrated to Israeli PM Netanyahu that he stormed into the cockpit and pulled up the aircraft’s controls to stop the plane from quick descent.
Captain Machchar declared an emergency and ultimately diverted the aircraft for a safe landing at Tabuk airport in northwest Saudi Arabia, earning him praise from within the country and across the globe.
World Leaders Praise
The Maharashtra-reared aviator is recovering in a hospital after an emergency surgery in a Tabuk hospital. The Indian embassy in Riyadh and the consulate in Jeddah have been following up on the health condition of Machchhar. The Indian embassy said it is also in touch with his family.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump both hailed Captain Machchhar as a “hero”. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu too joined them with no less effusive words to praise his “extraordinary” fight back.
Modi said he thwarted a 9/11 type tragedy. “And like Israeli PM (Benjamin Netanyahu) today said that this Indian thwarted 9/11 (like attack). For every Indian, Smit’s bravery fills our heart with pride,” Modi said while addressing the centenary celebrations of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Earlier in the day, Modi commended him for showing great patience, acumen and bravery.
Rewards
Back home in Maharashtra and across domestic aviation community, people have expressed immense pride in Machchar’s bravery. Government of Gujarat announced that Captain Machchhar will be honoured with the ‘Visisht Gujarat Garima Award.’
To become a pilot was not Machchhar’s immediate childhood dream. He took admission in a textile engineering course to further the family’s textile business. He even went ahead with management studies at Mumbai’s Welingkar Institute of Management.
When Machchhar turned 19, he decided to become a pilot, after being attracted towards it during an aviation seminar he attended. He called that his mother was scared over his wish to take flying as his career.
He joined SpiceJet in 2011. During his eleven-year stay with the airline , he flew domestic routes, logging thousands of hours.
Subsequently, he rose to become a Senior Commander and Line Training Captain — mentoring Indian commercial pilots ahead of taking up the international assignment. SpiceJet too offered their appreciation for a former employee. “Your heroism saved countless lives today,” the private airliner said.
flydubai Career
Machchar joined Dubai-based flydubai as a Direct Entry Captain on the Boeing 737 family in June 2022, as per his LinkedIn profile.
His skill sets coupled with clocking over 9,750 flight hours, including more than 6,400 of them as Pilot-in-Command, Machchhar was a seasoned veteran of the skies.
His spontaneous courage and steadfastness mid-air, however, has made his act immortal. At the same time, it has left behind serious work for security aviation managers.
Published on October 1, 2026
English (US) · 
French (CA) · 
French (FR) ·