Wounded FlyDubai captain recounts fight to save 182 lives
The Indian captain who helped stop a co-pilot from crashing a FlyDubai flight has described how he fought for his life to save 182 people on board.
Capt. Smit Machchhar, recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital, spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised video call on Friday. “I had so many wounds. I had fallen down,” he said. “I was fighting for my life.”
Machchhar said his 17 years of flying experience let him sense the plane’s steep descent even while injured. He managed to open the cockpit door, letting passengers restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply.
The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The attacker, an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Modi told Machchhar his courage, patience, and presence of mind saved many lives. The captain also thanked the Saudi and UAE governments for his medical care.
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