Prime Minister Narendra Modi hails Captain Smit Machchhar as a “HERO”, praises his immense courage and resolve in saving 174 lives despite being seriously injured, and his timely actions aboard the flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
“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,” said Prime Minister Modi in an X post.
Today, I also spoke with his father, Bhupendra; his mother, Gita; and his wife, Sonal. Today, the entire world is proud of him. “This feat by Smit fills us with pride. He is currently undergoing treatment. I urge my fellow citizens to pray for Smit’s long life and excellent health, and to salute Smit, who has brought glory to India… Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also hailed Machchhar as a hero, saying he fought back after being stabbed and, despite severe injuries, managed to unlock the cockpit door. This allowed Israeli passengers and Emirati crew members to intervene and save those on board.
He also praised his courage while adressing an event commemorating the 100 years of UPSC.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Indian pilot Smit Machchhar’s actions during the Flydubai incident helped prevent another 9/11-like tragedy, adding that he had demonstrated remarkable “patience, presence of mind, and courage” and made the country “proud”. Modi said. “Suddenly the airplane dropped, massive turbulence for 20, 30 seconds, and then balanced, and then once again dropped for ten seconds, and balanced again, and then we saw that, in the front of the aircraft there was a riot,” passenger Almog Italie said in his video. Citing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, CBS News reported that “after the stabbing incident, passengers held the co-pilot down while another pilot on board landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia”. Flydubai acknowledged the incident in a statement, saying that “an altercation occurred in the flight deck” and that the aircraft “was successfully secured by on-duty FlyDubai crew travelling on the flight, who diverted and landed the aircraft safely”.
