Indians Hail ‘Hero Pilot’ Who Fought Off Mid-Air Attacker, Saved 174 Lives
Prime Minister Modi: “India is proud of Captain Machchhar.”
The flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv had many heroes: the wounded Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, who opened the cockpit door for passengers to take down the rogue co-pilot; Yaniv Hayun and fellow Israeli passengers, who subdued the attacker and stabilized the diving plane; and Shota Musaev, a dentist who treated the captain’s severe stab wounds.
These are the heroes who, in the words of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, prevented a “9/11-type disaster.” While the mainstream media shies away from naming the elephant in the room, Defence Minister Israel Katz called it what it is: “an attempted jihadist terror attack.”
On Wednesday night, the 166 Israeli passengers returned home to a hero’s welcome from Prime Minister Netanyahu and a jubilant nation.
News of an Indian pilot saving the day also sparked elation in India and the diaspora. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X praised Captain Machchhar for his “immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others,” disregarding the danger and serious injury.
Speaking at a rally on Thursday, Modi urged ‘1.4 billion Indians’ to pray for Machchhar’s recovery and praised him for averting ‘another 9/11.’
“The nation is proud of Captain Smit Machchhar,” Indian President Droupadi Murmu wrote. “His heroic courage and incredible presence of mind have deeply touched us all.”
Captain Smit Machchhar is a HERO.
In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others.
His valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy.
India is proud of…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 1, 2026
The newspaper Indian Express noted that the pilot was “gravely injured” but “safe,” and Prime Minister Modi has spoken to his wife and family. Media reports suggest that he underwent surgery in Saudi Arabia.
The Indian daily reported:
The government said Thursday that Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, who fought off a co-pilot who allegedly attempted to crash a flydubai aircraft travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was gravely injured but is receiving medical attention and is safe.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu praised Machchhar for saving passengers’ lives.
Meanwhile, sources said PM Modi also spoke to his wife and parents, praising the captain’s bravery for averting a major tragedy and assuring the family that the government and Indian missions would provide all necessary support.
“We salute the bravery of Captain Smit Machchhar, who, inspite of being gravely injured, showed remarkable courage that saved the lives of many. He is receiving medical attention and is safe. We wish and pray for his speedy recovery. The nation proudly stands with him and his family,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday morning.
Machchhar, a father of two, was described by former colleagues in India as humble and amiable.
Noting the pilot’s bravery, The India Today weekly wrote:
Bleeding heavily after being stabbed multiple times inside the cockpit by his co-pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar’s quick thinking proved to be critical to the survival of the 174 passengers aboard the Israel-bound flydubai flight. Machchhar, who is being hailed as a hero worldwide, not only sent out emergency signals but also, crucially and on time, opened the cockpit door, allowing passengers to rush in and overpower the attacking co-pilot.
Prime Minister Netanyahu was among the first to laud the Indian pilot, hailing his “extraordinary bravery.”
My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery.
Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 30, 2026
President Trump also called Machchhar a “hero” and his attacker a “terrorist” and a “wack job.”
“The pilot was in very bad shape; I guess he still is in very bad shape, but he had the sense to, amazing, to, in a way he was a hero,” he said after talking to Prime Minister Netanyahu. “It seems as though the co-pilot was perhaps a terrorist or perhaps a whack job, and he stabbed the pilot.”
Pilot is a "hero", opened the door, says Trump lauds Indian pilot Smit Machchhar who saved many lives in the Fly Dubai incident pic.twitter.com/VswMmy1aT1
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) October 1, 2026
While the mainstream media downplayed the attack as a mid-air “altercation” or “brawl” between two pilots, Captain Machchhar suffered several deep and life-threatening stab wounds. It was Dr. Shota Musaev, an Israeli dentist, who saved him by tending to his life-threatening wounds. “Israeli dentist’s mid-air emergency treatment saved Indian pilot,” writes Indian news website Firstpost.
Dr. Musaev described the pilot’s condition, saying, “He was covered in cuts – his head, his hands – they were practically sliced open, almost severed in two … he had lost a lot of blood and was in bad shape.”
“I think that if we had waited even a few more moments, we would have lost him; his blood pressure had plummeted, he suddenly lost consciousness, and there was blood everywhere,” he added.
🇮🇱 🇮🇳 WATCH: HERO ISRAELI DOCTOR SHOTA MUSAEV ON HOW HE SAVED THE LIFE OF INDIAN PILOT SMIT MACHCHHAR
Reporter: The main hero, perhaps it can be said, who saved… Dr. Shota Musaev: I think everyone was a hero. I don't think that I am a hero or someone else. Everyone, it was… https://t.co/oum0t3WABg pic.twitter.com/8Z0SoF1qHz
— גיא עזריאל Guy Azriel | Diplomatic Correspondent (@GuyAz) September 30, 2026
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Comments
Kudos to the pilot, but disregarding wounds and serious injuries, not so much. He was screwed if he hadn’t.
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Really? Now do you…
Why would you try to downplay or minimize the pilot’s bravery, presence of mind and physical ability, here? That he was acting partially out of self-preservation doesn’t take away from the courage and mental acuity that he displayed.
You’re stating the obvious and failing to make a logical point.
Hir could be honored without hyperbole. You diminish the valor of those who abandoned a position of safety to risk all for others by hijacking medal of honor verbiage.
Thanks for allowing me to tutor you in basic logic. You are s victim of the feminization of society- all emotion, all the time.
LI needs a nice, civilized block feature.
Sounds like he almost died but for the dentist. Maybe you should stand back and watch for a while.
He was screwed if he hadn’t.
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he was DEAD if he hadn’t and 160 or so others with him–from the wounds he sustained, especially both hands / both forearms, he put up a serious defense in a confined space against an attacker armed with an edged weapon–also managing to squawk atc / unlock the cockpit door and summon help in the process–hero or no, serious focus in the moment
bravo
It’s always impressive how you manage to have the worst takes no matter what the subject is, It takes real effort to maintain that level of dirtbag.
He saved his own life, and pushed a button to open the cockpit door, contrary to regulations that never imagined the threat coming from inside the cockpit.
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Meanwhile, all the cheering noise from the media is hiding some things. E.g. Why was a relative recent jihadi hire from Oman piloting on a flight to Israel. E.g. Why are the actual identities of the relief pilots being kept under such wraps given that they actually brought the plane in. E.g. Why did they need relief pilots for a relatively short flight. E.g. Why the lack of attention to the actual resistance and relunctant minimal assistance from Saudi Arabia.
Pilots only fly so many hours, not unusual for relief pilots to be on board, sure they didn’t have a group in Israel to take over
Not a big airline like American
The relief pilots were “deadheading” which in airline lingo means they were on the plane in order to get to their next assignment. Why was the jihadi in the cockpit? Good question but put it this way: Who set him up for this?
A Muslim pilot at the controls of a plane loaded with Jews. What could possibly go wrong?
I have yet to see the name of the culprit in print. Standing by yesterday’s prediction it will be “Muhammed Something Muhammed.” I think all the applause for the Indian pilot, while deserved, is being used to cover for the fact they are reluctant to name the other pilot too soon after the event.
Thank you, come again… 🙂
https://x.com/rduke0071/status/2105634095636345044/photo/1
The UK media has been incredibly subdued about this event and even when reporting on it, it never rises above something along the lines of “something or another happened on a plane, claims Israel”.
American media is saying one pilot “allegedly stabbed the other.” Really? There are two people in the cockpit and they’re both pilots. One is stabbed. Who else may have stabbed him?
This reminds me of how the British media downplays so many incidents in the UK, softening the language so as not to offend the Muslim community. Suicidal empathy, as Gad Saad so appropriately calls it. It pains me to see the American press do the same. It makes me think we are headed down the same dark road.
Good on him. Freezing or passing out could have just as easily happened.
This was a bunch of miracles. The pilot’s bravery, the passengers that ran in, the dentist that saved a life, two extra pilots on board. How many miracles in one tin can, thousands of feet in the air?
The one that amazed me is the plumber that pulled the yoke down and stopped the nose dive. He saw it on TV..
What do you call so many miracles?
TY Vijeta, great article..
A true miracle. All of those people on board were born again yesterday. God bless! May they live long and happy lives.
Thank you!
May Captain Smit Machchhar have a full, comfortable, and quick recovery.
And, then, may he negotiate very lucrative book and movie rights to his version of the story.
I imagine he is satisfied with just being alive today. Book/movie deals will be the cherry on top.
And deservedly so.
He’ll need it. Wait til he gets that dental bill.
Indians have been dealing with Islamofascists/Muslim terrorists and their cancerous ideology for a long time, too.
I don’t understand what all the fuss is about.
NY Times says it was nothing more than an altercation in the cockpit.
The NY Times failed to explain what the altercation was about so I am in the dark.
In fact, I am downright confused. The altercation resulted in the pilot being hospitalized from stab wounds and his name and picture was immediately provided.
However, I know nothing about the stabber. Usually the victim’s name is withheld for privacy purposes while the perpetrator is reported immediately. But in the case. the perp is totally shielded for some reason.
Paula, had the perp been Arnold Johnson from Townville Iowa we’d know his name, home town, his high school, grade average, and the fact he used the word “n1663r” in a conversation at age 7. Never mind that he was discussing his viewing of “The Dam-Busters” on DVD (not censored) and was telling his friend the name of pilot Guy Gibson’s black dog;.
Fur shure!
If the pilot was a Brit with British Airways, the UK would be prosecuting him for a hate crime. The jihadist copilot would be out on bail, getting interviewed by BBC as a victim, and scheduling his next flight.
I pray for Smit Machchar’s recovery, skill and wisdom for the medical personnel–whatever it takes.
The man did a good and noble thing. I agree he is a hero.
And no sympathy for the failed suicide crasher.
I fully hope the Israelis award the pilot a high honor. He richly deserves it.
speaking of pilots, the ones that took over did one hell of a job–have a couple of friends who fly 737s for southwest, one of them a bird colonel former instructor pilot (whose other airplane REALLY WAS an f-16) and while they both say the 737 is something of a hotrod, flying and especially landing one with a degraded / inoperative / missing vertical stabilizer is a bit of a tightrope walk, particularly on final–definitely some real poise in the clutch
And the gentleman even being able to pull it out of the steep descent was a miracle.
My karate teacher said there is no realistic way to stop an attacker from stabbing you. Instead you try to get cut in a non-vital area, and then, trap the knife against or inside of you so he cannot withdraw and stab you again.
I’m gonna take sides here. We have in common: We love life, our own and others’; We are our own first responders and know it; “We are not responsible for the world we are given, only what we do with the world we are given.”; And Others will probably do the right thing, if we make them the chance to.
“We are dreamers, (and — ed) shapers, singers, and makers.”
Then there’s them.
My karate teacher said there is no realistic way to stop an attacker from stabbing you.
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every incident is different–have been through some extensive edged weapon attack / defense training and while would agree with your instructor to an extent, would disagree as to stopping / thwarting an attack before you get stuck–was taught from the get go that against an edged weapon you are likely to get cut (and was many times in training / practice) but to stay focused in your attack / defense (assuming you’re unarmed yourself) and remember the trinity: clear the body, control the weapon, attack–as this is a polite forum will not get graphic regards specific methods but would advise remembering that rather than disarming your opponent (especially if you’ve already been stuck) you focus instead on disabling / wasting them
good luck
Yep. Knife fights = getting cut, maybe stabbed. There’s no easy ‘one weird trick’ way to prevent it once you get into a knife fight. Run away aka create distance/space and/or use your firearm if you don’t wanna play with a knife wielding attacker.
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