Injured flydubai pilot describes fighting for control during cockpit altercation

Captain Smit Machchhar, the flydubai pilot injured during a cockpit altercation on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight, has described for the first time how he fought to regain control of the aircraft while wounded.

Speaking to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a 10-minute video call on Friday, Machchhar said he was fighting for his life when he realised the aircraft was descending and that he had to act.

“In that moment, I was fighting for my life,” Machchhar told Modi. “Because I had fallen down… I was so severely wounded that I had fallen down… at that time, I was thinking what if I don’t get up?”

He mentioned that his 17 years of aviation experience enabled him to comprehend the situation even while lying on the cockpit floor. "I have been a pilot for 17 years and a captain for the past 11 years. I can intuitively understand the aircraft's condition even without seeing it. While I was down, I could sense the aircraft was descending," Machchhar stated.

“And I knew in that moment – one last push, Smit! Just do it. The door is right there,” he told Modi.

“And then I just opened it… and then everybody came,” he said, referring to passengers and crew who rushed into the cockpit and restrained the attacker.

“I was doing this for my life, but at the same time, I knew that I couldn’t let everybody else die.”

During the flight, an altercation reportedly occurred in the cockpit. Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft transmitting the emergency code 7700, followed seven minutes later by 7500, the internationally recognised transponder code for unlawful interference.

According to media reports, the captain was injured during the confrontation, after which the cockpit door was opened, allowing passengers and crew to enter and help restrain the attacker.

The aircraft was successfully secured by on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk Airport (TUU). All passengers and crew are safe and accounted for,"

“Whenever I feel pain, I chant the Hanuman Chalisa. I was chanting it at that time too. And I know that God saved me,” he said.

“Had this not happened, who knows what India would have had to face, what all Indian pilots would have had to endure, and how Indian pilots would have been viewed. You have saved everyone. You have done a very big thing,” Modi said.

“Today, every fellow citizen and people across the world are eager to see you and speak with you,” he said.

US President Donald Trump described the Indian captain as a hero and praised his decision to open the cockpit door despite being seriously injured.

“The pilot was in very bad shape. But in a way, he was a hero to open the door,” Trump said.

The Indian Embassy in Israel also praised the pilot’s “remarkable courage, composure and devotion to duty”, while Israel’s ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, praised the actions of Machchhar, the passengers and crew who intervened.

“He was speaking openly, smiling and laughing, which was a great relief for us and, above all, for his family,” Mittal said.