Wounded Pilot Who Helped Save 170+ Lives Speaks from Hospital

Captain Smit Machchhar says faith, courage and 17 years of flying experience gave him the strength to act after being stabbed in the cockpit.

Captain Smit Machchhar was bleeding, badly injured and lying on the floor of the cockpit as the passenger jet he was commanding plunged toward the ground.

But one thought kept running through his mind:

He couldn’t let everyone else die.

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The 38-year-old Indian pilot is speaking publicly for the first time about the extraordinary moments aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073, recounting from his hospital bed how he forced himself back up after allegedly being stabbed by his co-pilot and managed to open the cockpit door.

That decision gave passengers and crew the opportunity they desperately needed to intervene.

“I had so many injuries, but I told myself I had to get up and act,” Machchhar said during an emotional video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “In that moment, I pushed myself to open the cockpit door.”

Machchhar spoke from a hospital in Abu Dhabi with bandages covering his head and hands and a tube in his nose. At several points, the veteran pilot became emotional as he described what happened.

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The Flydubai flight was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when authorities say Machchhar’s Omani co-pilot attacked him in an apparent attempt to hijack and crash the aircraft.

With 174 people aboard, the jet plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.

Machchhar had been seriously wounded and knocked to the floor.

But after 17 years as a pilot and 11 years as a captain, he said he understood what was happening to the aircraft even without being able to see the instruments.

“I was fighting for my life, but I realized that if I didn’t get up and act, after being seriously injured and lying on the floor, no one else would,” Machchhar said.

“I knew I couldn’t let the passengers die.”

He realized the cockpit door was within reach.

Only one more push.

Miraculously, Machchhar found the strength to get to the door and release it.

“I unlocked the cockpit door, then the passengers came in and took over,” he recalled.

That single act changed everything.

Passengers and crew rushed into the cockpit and overpowered the attacker. A second pair of Flydubai pilots who were aboard the aircraft were then able to take control and eventually land safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

“I know God saved me”

Machchhar also revealed what was going through his mind spiritually as the crisis unfolded.

“All through, I kept reciting the Hanuman Chalisa at that time,” he said. “That gave me courage.”

The Hanuman Chalisa is a Hindu devotional prayer to Hanuman. Machchhar told Modi that he turns to the prayer when he is in pain and continued reciting it throughout the ordeal.

“I know God saved me,” an emotional Machchhar said.

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As the conversation continued, the captain began to cry.

“I apologize for crying in front of you, but I’m so proud that I am speaking to the Prime Minister,” he told Modi.

Modi told Machchhar that people across India were praying for him and praised the captain’s courage, composure and quick thinking.

“Your courage, presence of mind and composure saved many lives,” Modi told him.

Machchhar has also been praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump, both of whom called him a “hero.”

A captain who always put passengers first

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Machchhar’s actions is how closely they match something he said long before anyone knew his name.

In a 2025 podcast interview, the veteran pilot explained that delays and inconveniences never mattered to him as much as getting his passengers safely off the aircraft.

“Delay is not my problem,” he said. “As long as you’re walking out of the aircraft is what I want.”

This week, when that responsibility became a matter of life and death, Captain Smit Machchhar lived those words.

He was wounded.

He was on the floor.

The aircraft was falling.

And he still found the strength to open that door.

Machchhar is now recovering in Abu Dhabi, while authorities continue investigating the attack.

But more than 170 people who boarded Flight 1073 made it safely back to the ground because a wounded captain refused to give up, passengers and crew ran toward danger, and another team of pilots was there to finish the job.

God bless Captain Smit Machchhar.

And let’s keep this hero in our prayers as he recovers.

Caleb Parke is an award-winning independent journalist and host of “The Good Report” podcast. Follow him on X, Facebook, Instagram, and connect with him at calebparke.com.