TEL AVIV, Oct. 1
Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar was seriously wounded while resisting a co-pilot who allegedly tried to sabotage a flydubai aircraft carrying 174 passengers to Israel, before crew members and passengers subdued the suspect and the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Machchhar suffered severe stab and cut wounds during the struggle aboard Flight FZ1073 from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday. He remained conscious despite heavy blood loss and was later taken to hospital in Tabuk, where initial reports indicated that his condition was stable.
The aircraft was carrying 174 passengers, including 27 children. Passengers included nationals of Israel, India and the United Arab Emirates, while four US citizens were also aboard.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the pilots stabbed the other and attempted to crash the aircraft as it approached Israel. A crew member and passengers subsequently entered the cockpit and subdued the suspect. The allegation is under investigation.
During the cockpit struggle, the aircraft lost more than 17,400 feet of altitude in about two minutes before control was restored, according to accounts cited in the reporting. It was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia and landed safely. The suspect was arrested and was being questioned by Saudi authorities.
Details of Machchhar’s injuries emerged from Musaev Shota, an Israeli dentist travelling on the aircraft who was among the passengers who rushed towards the cockpit.
Shota said he helped overpower and restrain the alleged attacker before turning his attention to the injured captain.
“I didn’t wait. I saw something was wrong and ran,” Shota told Israeli news outlet Ynet.
Machchhar was bleeding heavily from wounds to his head and hands, according to the dentist, who said he provided emergency medical treatment and managed to control the bleeding.
“I was the only doctor on the plane. I managed to stop the bleeding, and the pilot was fairly stable until shortly before landing, when his condition deteriorated somewhat,” Shota said.
He later told CNN that Machchhar had suffered extensive cuts and described his condition as serious because of the amount of blood he had lost.
Despite the injuries, the pilot remained conscious and was able to communicate with those assisting him.
Shota told Ynet that Machchhar said he was 39 and had two children. In a separate account to the Associated Press, the dentist said the captain remained in contact with him and prayed while they waited for the aircraft to land.
After the emergency landing in Tabuk, a Saudi medical team took over Machchhar’s treatment. Shota said he was subsequently informed that the pilot had survived and was out of danger.
India’s Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General in Jeddah said they were closely monitoring his condition.
The Indian mission said Machchhar was receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Tabuk and that initial information indicated he was stable. Officials were awaiting a more detailed assessment of his injuries.
Indian diplomats were also in contact with his family and said they would coordinate with Saudi authorities to provide assistance.
Machchhar is an experienced Boeing 737 pilot who has worked for flydubai for about four years.
According to information from his professional profile cited in the reporting, he has more than 13 years of commercial flying experience and over 9,750 flight hours.
Before joining flydubai, he spent about a decade with Indian low-cost airline SpiceJet, where he held positions including senior commander and line training captain.
Machchhar joined SpiceJet in 2011. He left the airline in June 2022 and joined flydubai as a direct-entry captain.
His entry into aviation followed a change in career direction when he was young. Machchhar initially pursued textile engineering, a field connected to his family’s business, before moving to a management course.
He has previously said that attending an aviation seminar when he was 19 persuaded him to become a pilot. He later underwent flight training in New Zealand.
His brother has also joined flydubai, according to the report.
The airline has suspended flights to and from Israel while the incident is investigated.
Netanyahu said he had spoken with the president of the United Arab Emirates and that Israel would participate in the interrogation of the suspect. Saudi authorities had taken the alleged attacker into custody following the emergency landing.
The circumstances surrounding the incident, including the alleged motive of the co-pilot, have not been established publicly. The available accounts identify him as an Omani national, but authorities have yet to release a detailed account of what led to the cockpit violence.
What has emerged more clearly is the sequence of actions aboard the aircraft after the confrontation began.
Machchhar was seriously injured while resisting the alleged attacker, passengers and a crew member intervened, and the aircraft recovered after losing thousands of feet of altitude. Emergency medical care was provided to the wounded captain in the cabin before the flight landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
All 174 passengers were reported safe.
For Machchhar, the emergency continued after the aircraft was on the ground. He was transferred to hospital in Tabuk for treatment of the injuries and blood loss sustained during the struggle.
India’s diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia said they would continue monitoring his recovery and assisting his family.
