{
  "id": 11385139,
  "title": "Indian flydubai pilot who opened cockpit door shares story with Prime Minister Narendra Modi",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/indian-flydubai-pilot-who-opened-cockpit-door-shares-story-with-prime",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-02T07:36:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/international/article-910404"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Indian pilot Capt. Smit Machchhar, who opened the cockpit door during a recent flydubai flight's attempted hijacking, shared his harrowing account with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi via a video call on Friday. Machchhar, an Indian from Mumbai, was stabbed and attacked by the Omani hijacker-pilot, who sought to crash the plane. Despite being in critical condition, Machchhar managed to open the door from inside, desperate to prevent further casualties. The hijacker, also an Omani, had stabbed the lead pilot and attempted to crash the aircraft. After a struggle, four passengers managed to subdue the attacker, while the remaining crew handled the emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Machchhar, with over 9,750 hours of flying experience, previously worked for Indian airline SpiceJet and had mentored new pilots.",
  "summary": "According to the wounded pilot, Capt. Smit Machchhar, he had opened the cockpit door while on the floor of the plane and actively being attacked by his Omani copilot.",
  "key_points": [
    "Capt. Smit Machchhar opened cockpit door during hijacking",
    "Omani hijacker stabbed Machchhar, attempted to crash plane",
    "Four passengers subdued attacker, plane landed safely in Saudi Arabia"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/11385139.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "NDTV",
        "title": "\"He Hit Me\": Video Shows Chaos On flydubai Flight After Indian Pilot Attacked",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/he-hit-me-video-shows-chaos-on-flydubai-flight-after-indian-pilot",
        "published": "2026-10-02T02:35:31.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "New video shows chaos on flydubai flight after Indian pilot foils attack",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/new-video-shows-chaos-on-flydubai-flight-after-indian-pilot-foils",
        "published": "2026-10-02T03:30:25.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times",
        "title": "PM Modi speaks to Indian pilot Smit Machchhar who was stabbed on flydubai plane",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/pm-modi-speaks-to-indian-pilot-smit-machchhar-who-was-stabbed-on",
        "published": "2026-10-02T05:54:29.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "I opened cockpit door of plane while being attacked, Indian pilot tells Modi",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/i-opened-cockpit-door-of-plane-while-being-attacked-indian-pilot",
        "published": "2026-10-02T07:20:25.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al-Monitor",
        "title": "Indian pilot tells PM Modi he opened flydubai cockpit door during attack",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/indian-pilot-tells-pm-modi-he-opened-flydubai-cockpit-door-during",
        "published": "2026-10-02T08:46:31.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}