Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, who was seriously injured while trying to stop an alleged cockpit attack aboard a flydubai flight, has been flown to the UAE and is now out of danger, according to NDTV.
Machchhar was airlifted to Dubai by flydubai after undergoing surgery for injuries sustained during the attack. He has since been moved to a hospital in the UAE, where he was reunited with his family.
NDTV reported that the pilot remains stable but is expected to need considerable time to recover from his injuries. Machchhar was the captain of flydubai Flight FZ 1073, which was flying from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday when an altercation broke out in the cockpit.
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According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the pilots allegedly attempted to interfere with the aircraft's systems and tried to crash the plane. Machchhar confronted him and was stabbed during the struggle.
The aircraft reportedly lost more than 17,400 feet in around two minutes amid the cockpit struggle. A crew member and a passenger then entered the cockpit and helped subdue the suspect, allowing the aircraft to be stabilised.
The flight was subsequently diverted and landed safely in Saudi Arabia. All passengers were reported safe, while the suspect was arrested and is being questioned by Saudi authorities.
The flight was carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children. Israel's foreign ministry said passengers included Israeli, Indian and UAE nationals, while the US State Department said four passengers were American citizens.
Machchhar has been working with flydubai for around four years. Before joining the UAE-based airline, he spent about a decade with SpiceJet, where he served in several roles, including line training captain and senior commander.
He joined SpiceJet in 2011 and moved to flydubai in June 2022 as a direct-entry captain.
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According to NDTV, Machchhar has more than 13 years of commercial flying experience on Boeing 737 aircraft and has logged more than 9,750 flying hours.
He had initially pursued a textile engineering course linked to his family's business before switching to management. An aviation seminar during his management studies sparked his interest in flying.
Machchhar subsequently trained in New Zealand, with the training costing around Rs 16-17 lakh, he said in a podcast with NDTV. His brother has also recently joined flydubai.
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