Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar's father Bhupendra Machchhar expressed gratitude to God as the injured pilot continues to recover. Despite the injuries, he emphasised that Smit remains determined to return to flying once he has fully recovered.
In an exclusive interaction with NDTV, Bhupendra Machchhar said, “God saved Smit,” adding that the pilot is recovering from injuries on his hands and head. Speaking further on Smit's injuries, he mentioned that the healing process will take time.
Captain Smit Machchhar was seriously injured during an alleged cockpit attack aboard a Flydubai flight.The Flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when an altercation reportedly broke out between the captain and co-pilot. The aircraft, carrying around 180 people, subsequently diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.
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After undergoing surgery for injuries sustained during the attack Machchhar was airlifted to Dubai by Flydubai. Since then he has been moved to a hospital in the UAE, where he was reunited with his family.
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The pilot remains stable but is expected to need considerable time to recover from his injuries, NDTV reported. He is 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.
Expressing his son's passion for flying, Bhupendra Machchhar said, "He will never say no for flying," despite the injuries.
Machchhar joined Flydubai in June 2022 as a direct-entry captain, according to reports and information on his professional profile. Prior to this, he spent more than 11 years with SpiceJet, where he served as a senior commander and later as a Line Training Captain.
His professional profile says that he has more than 13 years of commercial aviation experience and around 9,750 hours of flying experience on Boeing 737 aircraft, including the B737-800 and B737 MAX 8/9. During his tenure at SpiceJet, he reportedly accumulated more than 9,500 flying hours, including over 6,400 hours as pilot-in-command.
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