Flydubai incident: ‘Hero’ passenger credits TV show with helping avert crash, save 174 lives
Captain Smit Machchhar, a Mumbai-based pilot, is hailed as a hero after saving over 170 lives on FlyDubai flight FZ1073. The incident involved his Omani co-pilot trying to take control of the plane, potentially leading to a crash. Machchhar, who had been stabbed while attempting to stop the co-pilot, unlocked the cockpit door with a grievous injury, allowing passengers to overpower the attacker and safely land the plane.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Machchhar's courage and quick thinking, calling him a true hero. Machchhar, with over 15 years of commercial flying experience, joined Flydubai in June 2022 after operating as a direct-entry captain with SpiceJet. He has 9,500 flying hours with SpiceJet alone.
Machchhar, who prefers to keep aviation separate from his personal life, discovered his passion for flying later in life and completed his training in New Zealand.
Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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