"the plane went into a spin and began to descend"
The pilot who was stabbed on an Israel-bound flight on September 30 was identified as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar.
Machchhar was attacked by another pilot on board a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, forcing the plane to divert to Saudi Arabia.
He was taken to a hospital in Tabuk, a city in north-western Saudi Arabia, where he remains in a stable condition.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Machchhar as a “true hero” following the incident, saying he “saved the lives of 174 people” and prevented “a catastrophic mid-air disaster”.
Machchhar grew up in Mumbai, where his parents still live. He joined Indian airline SpiceJet in 2011 before eventually moving to Dubai, and had become an experienced pilot by the time he joined Flydubai in 2022.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Machchhar has more than 9,750 hours of flying experience, including more than 6,400 hours as pilot-in-command.
His former employer SpiceJet also issued a statement calling him a “hero” who had saved “countless lives”.
In 2025, Machchhar spoke about how he started flying and his experiences as a pilot on the Bona-Fide Banter podcast.
He said aviation was “never a childhood dream”, having joined a management course when he was around 19 with plans to work with his family’s business.
However, he later came across an aviation seminar and “the bug bit [him]”.
Machchhar went on to build a career as a commercial pilot and spoke about the importance of maintaining a healthy balance between his professional and personal life.
He said that when he wore his pilot’s uniform, he was “no-nonsense” and thought “about work 100%”.
However, unlike when he was younger, he said he now placed greater value on having a healthy work-life balance and spending time with his family.
Machchhar also detailed challenges he had faced in the air, including when a passenger went into early labour. He said the crew worked together to ensure the baby was born safely.
Social media has been full of praise for Machchhar since his identity emerged, with commenters calling him a hero.
Flydubai’s flight FZ1073 took off from Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates at 7:05 am local time en route to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.
The flight was carrying at least 150 people, with Netanyahu saying “almost all” passengers were Israeli.
Flight-tracking data revealed that around two and a half hours after takeoff, the plane rapidly descended over Saudi Arabia, dropping more than 17,000ft.
Minutes later, the plane signalled an emergency code, squawk 7700, before switching to squawk 7500, which indicates a hijacking.
The plane, which had briefly entered Jordanian airspace, then looped back into Saudi Arabia, where it later started its manual descent for landing.
Less than an hour later, the plane returned to squawk 7700.
It was initially reported that a fight had broken out between two pilots.
However, Netanyahu confirmed later reports that one pilot had stabbed the other before “apparently trying to crash” the plane.
During the struggle, it was reported that the cockpit door was opened, allowing other passengers to subdue the attacker and take control of the aircraft.
Netanyahu said an Israeli passenger told him “the plane went into a spin and began to descend” before the passenger and a crew member broke into the cockpit and overpowered the “pilot who had carried out the stabbing”.
The plane was diverted to Tabuk Airport in north-western Saudi Arabia and safely landed.
The stabbed pilot, who is in a stable condition according to the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia, was later identified as Captain Machchhar.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Smit Machchhar following the incident, saying he “showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others” despite being seriously injured.
Modi tweeted: “His valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy.”
Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar also praised Machchhar’s “extraordinary courage and remarkable presence of mind, even in the face of grave danger”.
US President Donald Trump said that “the pilot was in very bad shape” but had the sense to open the cockpit door during the attack.
He added: “Amazing, in a way he was a hero, to open the door. He was able to fall back and get the door open.”
