Indian FlyDubai captain praised after cockpit attack on flight to Israel

An Indian airline captain was being hailed as a hero Thursday after he was stabbed in the cockpit of a FlyDubai flight and still managed to help passengers and crew stop what officials described as an attempted crash. The incident forced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia and quickly drew attention from leaders in India and Israel.

Capt. Smit Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, was seriously injured Wednesday when his copilot attacked him during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. According to witnesses and Israeli authorities, Machchhar opened the cockpit door despite his injuries, allowing passengers to enter, restrain the attacker and keep the plane from plunging further out of control.

The flight was carrying 174 people when it diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where Machchhar was taken to a hospital in stable condition, according to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh. Embassy officials said Thursday that his family had been briefed on his recovery.

Praise from India, Israel and colleagues

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Machchhar a hero and said his courage helped save hundreds of lives. In a post on X, Modi said the captain showed “immense courage” and “unwavering resolve” despite being seriously wounded, while also saying the actions prevented a “9/11-like attack” from happening.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also praised the pilot’s “extraordinary bravery,” saying his actions helped prevent what he called a catastrophic midair disaster. Netanyahu said the attacker, identified as an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was being interrogated there. The motive for the assault was not immediately clear.

Machchhar’s employer, FlyDubai, has not publicly detailed the sequence of events beyond the emergency landing, but passengers described a sudden descent and a chaotic scene inside the aircraft. One eyewitness, dentist Shota Musayev, told The Associated Press that Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door before passengers grappled with the copilot and that he then treated the injured captain.

Machchhar’s background also drew notice after the attack. According to his LinkedIn profile, he had worked for FlyDubai for about four years after 11 years with SpiceJet, where he was a senior commander and line training captain. He trained as a pilot at Mainland Air in Dunedin, New Zealand, and later returned to India, where he worked as a recruiter for the school, according to the school’s head, Philip Kean.

In Mumbai, neighbors and relatives described Machchhar as calm and easy-going, even as media gathered outside the family’s building in Ghatkopar East. SpiceJet called his actions heroic, and Kean said the school community was proud of him and wished him a speedy recovery. The episode has since raised broader questions about in-flight security and the risks posed when a crew member turns on another inside the cockpit.