He is being hailed around the world as a hero for helping stop a passenger plane bound for Israel from plunging into the ground, despite his own severe injuries.
Images of Capt. Smit Machchhar covered in blood have gone viral after he fought his fellow pilot, who, according to Israeli officials, stabbed him and attempted to nose-dive the plane carrying 174 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
While bleeding profusely, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing other passengers and the Emirati crew to overpower the other pilot and take control of the aircraft. The flight was diverted to an airport in Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.
The Mumbai native’s actions have “shown the world the highest form of courage” and “prevented another 9/11 like attack from happening,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday, after speaking with Machchhar’s family. “The whole world is proud of him,” he added.
Machchhar spoke previously of getting the “aviation bug” at 19 while pursuing a management course to grow his family’s textile business.
He worked for years at a low-cost Indian airline before joining Flydubai, and had nearly 10,000 hours of flying experience before Wednesday’s incident.
Machchhar is being treated in a hospital in Tabuk city in northwest Saudi Arabia, with his condition described as “stable” on Wednesday by the Indian Embassy in Riyadh. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News he was “very badly wounded.”
Deepak Mittal, India’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said on X he met with Machhar’s family on Thursday in Dubai and “conveyed full support of the Government of India in ensuring welfare and wellbeing of the Indian Hero.”
Netanyahu called Machchhar “a true hero.”
“Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air disaster,” he said.
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Machchhar’s former employer, the Indian budget carrier SpiceJet, said on X that he flew for the airline for 10 years. According to his LinkedIn profile, Machchhar joined the Emirati low-cost carrier Flydubai in 2022 after flying for SpiceJet since 2011.
On Wednesday, the veteran captain was flying a Boeing 737 Max 8, the newer variant of the 737 plane that Machchhar had nearly 10,000 hours of experience flying, according to his profile and a YouTube podcast interview he gave last year.
“My first aircraft was a Boeing, and it’s always been that aircraft all my life,” he said.
Machchhar said he had flown challenging routes, dodged bad weather, and handled medical emergencies in the air before.
His mother was “scared” when he first told her of his plan to become a pilot, he said in the 2025 interview, but his supportive father agreed to cover the steep fees for aviation training.
Between 2008 and 2009, Machchhar trained for 18 months at an aviation college in New Zealand. It was the first time he had been outside India, he said, and he had only been on a “couple of flights” as a passenger before learning to fly.
He “stood out” among those training and did well with his studies, Mainland Air chief executive Philip Kean told New Zealand’s 1News, adding: “We’re all very proud of him here.”
In his early days as a qualified pilot, he took whatever flight routes he was assigned.
“When I started flying ... the only thing I wanted to do then was fly,” Machchhar told the podcast. “I didn’t want to sleep, I didn’t want to go anywhere, and they loved me for it.”
“For a pilot to gain that experience and to refine your skills is what a pilot is,” he added.
But his attitude changed when he got married and started a family, he said.
“Now I would say I try when I get out of the cockpit or the aircraft, I don’t want the other guy to know that I’m a pilot. I don’t want to discuss aviation,” he said.
“Now the kids are there,” he said. “They want to play with you.”
In the interview, Machchhar also spoke about the “rigorous training” that pilots and cabin crew undergo, which includes safety and emergency procedures.
“When we are up there and if something happens, who is going to save you? You’ll be lucky enough to have a doctor on board,” he said.
“They can save your life,” he said, referring to the cabin crew.
