New Zealand-trained Indian pilot hailed for saving 174 people in Flydubai suspected crash bid
Flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar. (Supplied photo)
Smit Machchhar trained with Mainland Air in Dunedin for about 18 months between 2008 and 2009.
An Indian pilot who trained in New Zealand has been hailed by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for helping save 174 people after his co-pilot stabbed him aboard a Flydubai flight.
Israeli officials say the co-pilot was attempting to crash the aircraft, although the motive for the incident remains unclear and Flydubai has warned against premature speculation.
Smit Machchhar trained with Mainland Air in Dunedin for about 18 months between 2008 and 2009, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Mainland Air chief executive Philip Kean described him as “a bit of a live wire” and an “above average” pilot, saying the pair had stayed in touch by email over the years.
“It’s just horrific. The main thing is that he’s still alive,” Kean told the Herald.
Selfie: ‘Daddy, please don’t take me to an India-NZ cricket match’. A migrant's dilemma Can a migrant embrace a new home without abandoning old loyalties? Sports often offers a reckoning for migrants.
Migrant prison guards in Auckland accused of drug smuggling can't work, can't go home Two fathers facing serious corruption charges have been unable to work elsewhere because of their visas and awaiting criminal trials in 2028.
Can you be Indian and Kiwi? National's Mahesh Muralidhar on patriotism, racism and belonging National's big ticket Indian-origin candidate on what ethnic representation really achieves and why New Zealanders still struggle to get along.
Machchhar was flying Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv when his co-pilot allegedly stabbed him during an altercation in the cockpit and sent the aircraft plunging nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.
A spokesperson for Netanyahu told Reuters Machchhar was covered in blood on the cockpit floor when he managed to activate the door release. That allowed passengers and crew to enter the cockpit and overpower the co-pilot.
Two other Flydubai pilots who were travelling on board then took control of the aircraft and landed it safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
“He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals,” Netanyahu said in a post on X. Passengers later reached Israel safely.
Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, was taken to hospital in Tabuk and underwent surgery, according to Hindustan Times.
The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia said he was stable and receiving medical attention, and that officials were in contact with his family and Saudi authorities.
Kean said the aircraft’s recovery showed the skill of those who took control after the plunge.
“It’s a long way to drop. It’s lucky it didn’t fall apart, those pilots did a great job at recovering the plane.”
Israel’s ambassador to New Zealand, Alon Roth, also praised Machchhar’s actions, describing the outcome as a miracle. Roth said the aircraft had been diving so rapidly that a crash appeared only seconds away before those on board intervened.
“The feeling in Israel is that we had a miracle here, but we had a kind of unbelievable cooperation between a wounded Indian pilot, Israelis, a doctor, and then we had luck,” he said.
He also praised Machchhar for managing to open the cockpit despite being seriously injured.
Machchhar worked for India’s SpiceJet airline for more than 11 years before joining Flydubai, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The reason for the altercation between the two pilots remains unclear. Flydubai said the underlying cause was still unknown and warned against “premature speculation”. The airline also suspended flights to and from Israel while the incident is investigated.
Netanyahu described what happened as “a highly severe security incident” and said Saudi authorities would question the co-pilot.
