Flydubai captain Smit Machchhar recounted a cockpit stabbing from his hospital bed during a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
Machchhar, 39, appeared with a nasal tube and bandages across his head and hands as he spoke to Modi for nearly 10 minutes in footage released on the prime minister’s social media channels. The pilot, who hails from Gujarat, wiped away tears while describing how he forced open the cockpit door as his co-pilot attacked him and the aircraft plummeted.
“I knew that the aircraft was going down … I had fallen to the ground. I told myself that the door is right there, just open it. I managed to do it and people entered,” he said.
The jet, carrying 174 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv, dropped nearly 14,000 feet in under 30 seconds during Wednesday’s incident. A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Machchhar was covered in blood and on the floor when he managed to open the door. That action allowed passengers and crew to overpower the co-pilot, after which a second pair of flydubai pilots on board took control and landed the plane in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
“I have been flying for the last 17 years, have been a captain for the last 11 years. I knew that the aircraft was going down,” Machchhar continued during the call.
Modi praised the pilot’s bravery directly, telling him his presence of mind saved lives and preserved the reputation of Indian pilots.
An emotional Machchhar told Modi he recited a Hindu prayer to the monkey god Hanuman while fighting to survive the assault. “I know God saved me,” he said.
The co-pilot’s alleged attempt to crash the aircraft prompted Netanyahu to cite “radical indoctrination” as a motivating factor, according to multiple reports. Israeli authorities have framed the incident as an attempted terror attack.
The flydubai flight’s rapid descent and violent cockpit struggle marked one of the most dramatic aviation security incidents in recent months. The presence of a second set of pilots traveling as passengers proved critical to the safe landing in Tabuk after Machchhar was incapacitated.
Machchhar’s actions have drawn widespread recognition, with the pilot emerging as a central figure in the story despite his injuries. His deliberate move to open the cockpit door, even while wounded on the floor, transformed what could have been a mass-casualty disaster into a survivable emergency.
The nearly 10-minute video call with Modi offered the first extended account from the pilot himself, delivered from his Abu Dhabi hospital room with visible medical equipment still attached. His Gujarat origins created an additional point of connection with the Indian prime minister, who also hails from the western state.
The incident remains under investigation by multiple authorities, with questions persisting about how the co-pilot was able to initiate violence inside the secured cockpit and what security protocols may be reviewed as a result.
Flydubai continues to operate its Dubai-Tel Aviv route as the investigation proceeds.