SpiceJet CEO Ajay Singh on Thursday praised the Indian captain who was at the controls of a flydubai flight when a copilot stabbed him in an apparent attempt to crash the plane and said he is “incredibly proud”. Speaking to NDTV, Singh said he was “absolutely delighted” that Captain Smit Machchhar , who previously worked for SpiceJet, was able to avert the “disaster”.
“I was relieved that this accident was prevented. It would have been a great, great disaster for aviation and for humanity. Because the biggest and the greatest duty of any captain flying any airplane is to ensure the safety of the passengers that he flies,” Singh said, i was absolutely delighted that Smit was able to be there and fulfill his duty as a captain,.
He said Machchhar, who is said to have worked for SpiceJet for around 11 years, did his job in such an “exemplary and brave manner” that all of India and SpiceJet is “incredibly proud” of.
“An amazing act of heroism — of his, of the Indian pilot, of the people who helped them.
He also praised Machchhar , who is said to be in early 30s, for his quick response and opening the cockpit door. “You know that it’s not so easy to do that because while cabin crew can punch in the security code from the outside, ultimately, the captain has to actually open the door from inside,” he said, adding that the switch to open the door is on the side of the co-pilot. “So for him to be able to reach out to that place and open that door while he was being attacked by his co-pilot was absolutely incredible,” Singh said. “The incident that occurred yesterday, Captain Smit of India demonstrated remarkable patience, presence of mind, and courage; indeed, as the Prime Minister of Israel stated today, an Indian prevented a 9/11-style tragedy,” PM Modi said at event in Delhi on Thursday. They stopped a disaster that could have been global,” he said.
