Indian Pilot Recounts Attack to Netanyahu, Praised as Hero
Translated & summarized from Israel Hayom by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Flydubai captain Smith Macher detailed his co-pilot's attack to PM Netanyahu.
- Macher was severely injured in the cockpit assault on Wednesday.
- Netanyahu called Macher a hero and invited him to light an Independence Day torch.
- Indian PM Modi also praised Macher and noted nationwide prayers for his recovery.
- Macher recited the Hanuman Chalisa during the traumatic event.
Flydubai captain Smith Macher, who was severely injured after being attacked by his co-pilot on Wednesday, shared new details of the terrifying incident in a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday. Macher described how the co-pilot asked to pray, stood behind him, and then struck him forcefully on the head. Initially thinking something had happened to the plane, Macher soon realized the assault was coming from his co-pilot. "I almost lost my sight because of his blows," Macher told Netanyahu, recounting how he was repeatedly hit, fell to the floor, and heard screams as the plane descended. He managed to open the cockpit door again to find people waiting to jump out.
Prime Minister Netanyahu called Macher "a hero for Israel, India, and the entire world" and invited him to light a torch on Israel's Independence Day. Macher has become a national and religious hero in India, with images circulating on social media showing the Hindu deity Hanuman carrying the plane. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke with Macher, stating that the entire country was praying for his recovery and that prayers were being held in temples across India. Macher shared that he recited the Hanuman Chalisa, a devotional poem, to cope with the pain.
Machera, who lives in Dubai, is one of approximately 3.5 million Indians in the United Arab Emirates, the largest expatriate community there. He told Modi that he prays every morning and teaches his two-year-old son the Hanuman Chalisa, emphasizing the importance of staying connected to their culture despite living abroad. Modi commended Macher's parents for raising him with such values. Modi himself inaugurated the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, where Macher is hospitalized, in February 2024.
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