Who Is Smit Machchhar, Indian FlyDubai Captain Stabbed During Mid-Air Cockpit Clash? | Today’s news
Two pilots of a commercial FlyDubai airliner traveling from the United Arab Emirates to Israel collided on Wednesday, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
The episode initially raised concerns about a possible hijacking, with the plane carrying dozens of Israeli passengers, prompting Tel Aviv to scramble for warplanes.
It was later revealed that there was a fight between the pilots and one of them stabbed the other with a knife. Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, where the plane made an emergency landing, revealed that the captain and first officer of the plane were injured and taken to hospital.
A video circulating on social media shows two men on the floor of the plane with bloody injuries. Two people appear to be providing emergency medical treatment while two others are guarding the cockpit. “We are guarding the pilot,” one person said in Hebrew, according to the Associated Press, which reviewed the footage. In another video, passengers cry and scream in despair as the plane shakes.
The pilot who was stabbed turned out to be an Indian citizen, Smit Machchhar. His condition was not immediately known.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the pilot who stabbed Machhar tried to crash the plane and has now been arrested by Saudi authorities.
“I pay tribute to these heroes who showed exceptional ingenuity and courage. They saved many lives and prevented a major disaster,” Netanyahu said in a statement on Wednesday.
Passengers were terrified after the flight suddenly descended from 33,000ft to 17,000ft in a matter of minutes before making an erratic circle near the Jordanian border. He finally landed in Tabuk.
Who is Smit Machhar?
Machchhar has been working for FlyDubai as a captain since June 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to FlyDubai, he spent 11 years with SpiceJet in Mumbai, where he served as Commander-in-Chief. In November 2020, Machchhar became the captain of the line training. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has 9,750 hours of flying experience.
He joined FlyDubai as a direct entry captain. Airlines hire pilots for this position after they have operated flights for other airlines. During his service with SpiceJet, Machchhar logged more than 6,400 hours as a pilot-in-command.
In terms of education, he studied business administration. There is no publicly available information about his pilot training.
