Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar, who was injured when his co-pilot attacked him on a flight from Dubai to Israel, has appeared for the first time in footage from a hospital in the United Arab Emirates, recounting some of the dramatic moments during the struggle in the cockpit.
Machchhar, an Indian national, spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his hospital bed and described his efforts to take action despite suffering multiple injuries.
Modi opened the conversation by asking about Machchhar's condition and telling him that people across India were praying for his recovery. He also praised the Machchhar's courage and the split-second decisions he made during the incident, stressing that his actions had saved the lives of many passengers.
Modi emphasized that Machchhar had acted while seriously injured and fighting for his own life, adding that the captain's conduct had inspired tremendous pride throughout India.
An emotional Machchhar told Modi that, in the first moments of the attack, he was fighting for his life after sustaining numerous injuries and falling to the floor. At a certain point, he realized that unless he managed to act, the incident could end in disaster.
"I had so many injuries, but I told myself that I had to get up and act," he recounted. "At that moment, I pushed myself to open the cockpit door."
The captain explained that even after falling, he remained aware of what was happening aboard the aircraft and understood that he needed to reach the door and open it. Once he managed to do so, others arrived and helped bring the incident under control.
Machchhar stressed to Modi that he does not take sole credit for saving the aircraft, emphasizing that the others who rushed to help had also played a significant role.
During the conversation, the captain also spoke about the faith that sustained him. He said he prays every morning and that his two-year-old son sits beside him during his prayers. Although his family lives far from India, he explained that it is important to him that his children remain connected to the culture and traditions in which he was raised.
Machchhar said he repeated his prayers during the incident itself and that after he was saved, he believes that he merited Divine intervention. He also expressed gratitude for the medical treatment he received following the emergency landing in Saudi Arabia and subsequently in the UAE.
At one point during the conversation, the captain struggled to hold back tears and apologized to the Prime Minister for becoming emotional. Modi responded by asking him who he could express his emotions to if not to him.
Modi said he had also spoken with Machchhar's family members and praised their resilience. He added that prayers had been held across India for the captain's recovery and wished him a speedy return to full health.
The captain's account follows testimony from Israeli passengers who described rushing toward the front of the aircraft after hearing screams and feeling the plane tilt before plunging sharply.
Yaniv Hayun, who was among the first to reach the cockpit, said that when the door opened, he saw the captain lying near the entrance, bleeding heavily, with blood covering the cockpit. According to Hayun, the co-pilot was positioned between the pilots' seats, and he and another crew member began struggling with him.
Hayun described grabbing the attacker and pulling him out of the cockpit as additional Israeli passengers joined him and helped hold the co-pilot down. Afterward, seeing that the aircraft was still tilted, Hayun briefly took hold of the flight controls for several seconds until a crew member took control of the aircraft.
Meanwhile, Dr. Shota Musayev, a dentist who was among the passengers, provided medical treatment to Machchhar. Musayev said the captain was suffering from severe bleeding from his head and hands and that he managed to stop the bleeding and stabilize his condition before landing.
After the aircraft landed at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia, Machchhar was transferred to a local hospital. Later, following an improvement in his condition and approval from medical personnel, he was flown to Abu Dhabi for further treatment and recovery.
India's Ministry of External Affairs announced that the Indian ambassador to the UAE had visited Machchhar in the hospital, and it was subsequently reported that the captain was in good condition.
In its preliminary investigation, the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed that the captain had been attacked by his co-pilot and that both men were injured. The Saudi statement did not mention that the aircraft had been traveling to Israel or that most of the passengers were Israeli, nor did it address suspicions that the incident may have been an act of terrorism.