Hero Pilot Fought Off Attacker in Cockpit, Averting Disaster

Captain Smith Machchar, an Indian national with 15 years of aviation experience, is being hailed as a hero after thwarting an attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight. Machchar, who joined Flydubai in June 2022 after over a decade with India's SpiceJet, was stabbed by his co-pilot, an Omani national, during an altercation in the cockpit. Despite his injuries, Machchar fought back, preventing the co-pilot from crashing the plane. Israeli passengers aboard the flight played a crucial role in subduing the attacker after breaching the cockpit door. One Israeli passenger described the intense struggle, stating, "We neutralized him, the terrorist, using headphones, and a doctor on the flight helped the main pilot and stabilized him. It was crazy."

During the struggle, the aircraft's tail sustained damage as the co-pilot initiated a rapid descent. Following the passengers' intervention, two additional pilots on board entered the cockpit and regained control of the aircraft. The flight was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, for an emergency landing. Machchar, who has accumulated over 10,000 flight hours, including extensive experience on Boeing 737 aircraft, was previously a captain and instructor pilot at SpiceJet.