Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot stabbed in the cockpit of a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, was airlifted from Saudi Arabia to Dubai on Thursday for further medical treatment, Indian media reported.
Machchhar had been hospitalized in Tabuk, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, since Wednesday, when flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Ben Gurion Airport made an emergency landing there. Indian reports said he was in stable condition before the transfer. Parag Shah, a lawmaker from Machchhar's Mumbai constituency, told CNN, citing the family, that the pilot was out of danger after undergoing surgery in Saudi Arabia.
The captain was allegedly attacked by his co-pilot during the flight. Despite his wounds, Machchhar managed to release the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to subdue the attacker. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Reuters that the pilot was lying bloodied on the cockpit floor when he opened the door.
Netanyahu praised Machchhar, telling CNN that the pilot had prevented a 9/11-style disaster. Israelis on board also played a central role. According to CNN, a man named Hayoun took over the controls and stabilized the aircraft, while an Israeli dentist, Musayev, gave the captain lifesaving treatment. The dentist later said that a few more moments without help could have cost the pilot his life.
Netanyahu said the alleged attacker is likely to be transferred to the UAE for questioning. Investigators are still working to establish his motive.
The passengers reached Israel on a replacement flydubai aircraft after Saudi Arabia turned down an Israeli request to send a military or civilian plane to bring them home.
Machchhar, 39, a father of two who lives in Dubai, joined flydubai in 2022 as a captain on its Boeing 737 fleet after previously flying as a commander with SpiceJet. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him a hero and spoke by phone with his wife and parents. Israel's Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, also praised the pilot.
