Smit Machchhar
other
Smit Machchhar is an Indian commercial airline captain who flies for flydubai. On 30 September 2026 he was captain of Flydubai Flight 1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv when his co-pilot stabbed him in the cockpit during what Israeli officials described as an apparent attempt to crash the aircraft. Despite serious wounds he resisted, unlocked the cockpit door, and helped passengers and crew overpower the attacker. The Boeing 737 then made an emergency landing at Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia. All passengers survived.
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Oct 2, 2026
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The Indian pilot was stabbed by his co-pilot midair on a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv and managed to land the plane.
He is being praised as a calm professional who prevented a catastrophe, a rare story of individual competence amid institutional dysfunction.