Family, neighbours cheer Captain Machchhar’s heroism

Machchhar’s parents Upendra and Gita who live at Swastik Heights, left for Dubai on Thursday morning to be with Machchhar’s wife Sonal and their two grandchildren. According to Machchhar’s uncle Kishor, the pilot moved to Dubai in 2022 to work with flybydubai

MUMBAI: Residents of Swastik Heights at Tilak Nagar, Chembur, gathered in large numbers in the building compound on Thursday noon to raise a cheer for Captain Smit Machchhar and demand that the government bestow a civil honour on him.

iMumbai, India - Octomber 01, 2026: Members of Swatik Society assist the family of Captain Smit Machchhar, a Tilak Nagar resident who reportedly helped save more than 180 passengers aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv after an alleged attack by his co-pilot in mumbai, India, on Wednesday, Octomber 01, 2026. (Photo by / Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

“We are so proud that Smit saved so many lives,” said the pilot’s uncle Kishor Machchhar. Another family friend, Vipul Mehta, promised a “grand felicitation when Smit is back in Mumbai.”

Machchhar, the captain of Wednesday’s flybydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv averted a major mid-air disaster when he fought back against the co-pilot of the aircraft who suddenly went rogue and stabbed Machchhar multiple times in an apparent effort to crash. As the Boing 737 MAX 8 carrying 174 passengers plunged 14,300 feet, the Mumbai-born pilot fought back and opened the cockpit door allowing for passengers to come in and overpower the co-pilot whose name has still not been made public.

Both, the Indian and Israeli prime ministers, hailed Machchhar’s courage and presence of mind. For his immediate family though, the concern is about Machchhar’s health. He is being treated at a military hospital at Tabruk in Saudi Arabia. Machchhar’s parents Upendra and Gita who live at Swastik Heights, left for Dubai on Thursday morning to be with Machchhar’s wife Sonal and their two grandchildren. According to Machchhar’s uncle Kishor, the pilot moved to Dubai in 2022 to work with flybydubai. Prior to that he had worked for 11 years at SpiceJet where he was a senior commander and a line training captain who trained and supervised other pilots. Machchhar, 38, also started an aviation institute in Ghatkopar east called FlyBy Aviation Academy which is at present being managed by his cousin Pooja Ganatra. The pilot has logged 9,750 flying hours on the 737-800 and the 737 MAX 8 and 9. On Thursday, American media called him the “Indian Sully” comparing him to Chesley Sullenberger, best-known for landing safely landing a US Airways flight on the Hudson River in New York after a bird hit disabled its engines.

Smit Machchhar, originally from Rajkot, grew up in the predominantly Gujarati middle class neighbourhood of Ghatkopar east where the family runs a printing press business. He studied at Ramji Assar and VS Gandhi Gurukul Technical School and did an MBA from Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research (WeSchool), Matunga.”He is a true hero in the skies. His courage, discipline and dedication inspires us all. We are proud to see a Welingkar alumnus soar so high,” said Pankaj Natu, director, WeSchool. He completed his flying course from New Zealand and joined SpiceJet where he worked for 11 years.

Bhavin Mehta, who runs a cafe in Ghatkopar and who studied with Machchhar, told HT that their school WhatsApp group was “full of praise and prayers for Captain Smit.”