Sheikh Hamdan praises Captain Smit Machchhar’s “courage, responsibility and care for human life” after the mid-air cockpit attack…reports Asian Lite News Desk
Dubai Crown Prince H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has visited flydubai Captain Smit Machchhar in hospital, days after the pilot helped prevent a catastrophe aboard a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight.
The Crown Prince shared photographs of the meeting on social media, describing the captain as a man who “embodied the highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life.”
“From us, and from the leadership of the nation, he has our full appreciation and praise,” he wrote. “We are proud that he is part of our team… part of the story of our nation… and part of what the UAE stands for… a nation of compassion… a nation of peace… and a nation of life.”
Mid-air attack
The incident happened on Wednesday aboard flydubai flight FZ1073, which was carrying more than 170 people. The co-pilot allegedly stabbed Captain Machchhar in the cockpit, and the aircraft plunged more than 17,000 feet.
Despite his serious injuries, the captain fought back and managed to open the locked cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to rush in and overpower the attacker. The plane then made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the captain had “managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster” and called him a “true hero.” A passenger who helped treat him, dentist Shota Musaev, told CNN that the captain had suffered massive blood loss and that moments more of delay could have cost his life.
“I was fighting for my life”
Captain Machchhar, a 39-year-old Indian national and father of two, is recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital. In a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, broadcast on television news channels, he described how he fought for his life and knew he had to get back on his feet to save those on board.
He told Modi he has been flying for 17 years and “can tell what is happening to the plane even with my eyes closed.”
Authorities have not yet publicly set out the full circumstances of the attack, and the co-pilot’s alleged motive remains under investigation.
