Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar captured global headlines for his extraordinary bravery during a mid-air catastrophe on a flydubai plane heading to Tel Aviv. Despite sustaining severe knife wounds from his co-pilot, Machchhar managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing crew and passengers to intervene and overpower the assailant, averting a major air tragedy. Following the incident, a former neighbour in Mumbai recalled his impression of the pilot now being hailed as a hero.
Dr Janit Shah, a former neighbour of Flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar, told ANI, “Smit Machchhar is a talented, soft-spoken, and good man. He was my neighbour for the last 10-15 years before he shifted to Dubai 2-3 years ago.”
The doctor continued, “Now, the story has emerged that he was able to save 174 lives even after being stabbed. He is an incredible person, and I hope for his fast recovery. I hope his family is able to recover from this shock.”
What happened on the flight?
"Well, look, on a flight from Dubai to Israel, as they were approaching Israel, there was an attack by one of the pilots against the other pilot. Apparently, he stabbed him or hit him with an axe. He was bleeding profusely. The plane began to go out of control and began a nosedive," said Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.
{{/usCountry}}"Well, look, on a flight from Dubai to Israel, as they were approaching Israel, there was an attack by one of the pilots against the other pilot. Apparently, he stabbed him or hit him with an axe. He was bleeding profusely. The plane began to go out of control and began a nosedive," said Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.
{{/usCountry}}Talking about Machchhar, the PM said, "The pilot—the pilot who was there, who was an Indian pilot, with a sort of, he's very badly wounded. He's fighting, I think, for his life right now. But in, you know, in an act of unbelievable courage, he managed to unlock the door to the—to the cockpit.”
Who is Smit Machchhar?
According to his LinkedIn profile, he has served as a captain on flydubai's Boeing 737 fleet since June 2022. Before joining flydubai, he worked at SpiceJet in Mumbai for nearly 11 years. He has reportedly logged nearly 9,750 flying hours over a career spanning about 15 years.
Also Read: ‘You’ll be lucky if you have a doctor’: Smit Machchhar’s prophetic words before flydubai stabbing
Before becoming a pilot, he had his heart set on his family’s textile business, reported Reuters. However, at 19, he wanted to enter the aviation industry. In an old interview that is now going viral on social media, Machchhar recalled that his mother was scared when he expressed his desire to become a pilot.